- Admin
- #1
I've just received an email from a Sunderland fan asking for the support of United fans in this issue. Obviously, we only have one side of the story, but I've included it below so you can make your own minds up.
Now some people will be asking why should we care?
Well, many travelling fans, myself included, have on a few occasions seen some bizarre, petty and disgusting behaviour by Police and stewards.
Some fans are idiots, and deserve what they get. But many fans aren't, yet are still subjected to the same abuses.
The FSF campaign for football fans, not to get special treatment, but to be afforded the treatment that should be ours by rights as law abiding citizens of this country.
And now for the mere suspicion of being involved in trouble, just because the Police say so, Sunderland are banning fans.
The links are below:
Link to petition: HERE
Timeline of events: HERE
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Now some people will be asking why should we care?
Well, many travelling fans, myself included, have on a few occasions seen some bizarre, petty and disgusting behaviour by Police and stewards.
Some fans are idiots, and deserve what they get. But many fans aren't, yet are still subjected to the same abuses.
The FSF campaign for football fans, not to get special treatment, but to be afforded the treatment that should be ours by rights as law abiding citizens of this country.
And now for the mere suspicion of being involved in trouble, just because the Police say so, Sunderland are banning fans.
The links are below:
During pre season Sunderland fans attended a match against Hearts. Fans obviously booked up the trains early travelling from Newcastle and back as there are no direct trains from Sunderland. However at half time it was announced there was a football special going directly to Sunderland. For some fans this would save them a journey on the metro through Newcastle. However the train did not go to Sunderland it instead went to Newcastle and on their arrival into Newcastle the platform was full of Northumbria Police (Sunderland a few years back became part of Tyne and Wear and is policed by Northumbria). The police then claim that they were attacked by the fans and their dogs and officers were injured.
The fans claim they were surrounded by police and pushed by those at the back to move forward and the hit by police batons by the police at the front. Several Sunderland fans were hospitalised including dog bites to the stomach and one fan with over 30 stables [sic] to a head wound following hits by batons. One fan was left unattended for several minutes by the police despite bleeding from the head. Freedom of information requests have shown that no police dog or officer was injured despite the police publishing pictures of injured dogs in the media. The police have refused to publish the CCTV from the train station and the IPCC investigated the incident without speaking to any of the fans. A link to a you tube clip of this has been attached as has a piece on the local bbc news and a timeline of events as published by the FSF.
So why a petition?
No-one has been charged despite the police holding and not releasing the CCTV from the station. Around 40 fans have been arrested and all have been freed on bail. Sunderland have now said it is club policy to ban any supporter arrested for football-related violence or disorder. However this only was enforced this week when the incident happened in August. I believe and I hope you do as well that we are all innocent until proven guilty and that this ban should be over turned. I ask you and your fellow supporters to show some solidarity with the Sunderland fans affected by this banning and sign the petition asking Niall Quinn and the club to overturn this banning.
Link to petition: HERE
Timeline of events: HERE
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