'The worst violence I have ever seen/Anyone Remember?

Myself personally was in the Bob Bank that night.
Seats thrown by the Jacks at Children.



'The worst violence I have ever seen anywhere in my life': Football intelligence officer recalls South Wales derby clash

BY DAVID OWENS

Simon Chivers says the Cardiff City of today is unrecognisable from the one he supported as a boy on the terraces


Trouble flares as seats are torn up and thrown at Ninian Park on a dark day for the derbyTrouble flares as seats are torn up and thrown at Ninian Park on a dark day for the derby in 1993

Simon Chivers shudders at the thought of Wednesday, December 22, 1993.

Then the young Cardiff City fan was witness to one of the most notorious nights in derby day history as warring sets of Cardiff City and Swansea City fans clashed inside and outside Ninian Park.



The game was marred by Swans’ fans ripping out seats, Cardiff fans invading the pitch and running battles between both sets of supporters.

“I remember it vividly,” says Chivers, who is now a football intelligence officer with South Wales Police. “That’s the worst violence I have ever seen anywhere in my entire life.”

More than 20 years later and the situation couldn’t be more different. There’s not been any notable issues between the two sides for 16 years and the officer from Church Village intends it to stay that way.

The self-confessed Bluebirds obsessive has been with the force for 15 years and is one of the stars of Police 24/7, which returns to our TV screens on BBC One Wales tomorrow night.

VIEW GALLERY It all began in 1912 - the first ever derby between Cardiff City and Swansea Town. Here's the match programme from that historic day

The new series follows a week in the life of South Wales Police, the largest force in Wales. In the opening episode, the eyes of the world are on the Welsh capital for the first derby in the Premier League between Cardiff and Swansea.

We encounter the football intelligence officer and his team as they take on the enormous operation of policing the thousands of fans travelling from Swansea to the capital with the potential for trouble never far away.

For the 39-year-old, appearing in front of the camera was a unique experience – one he admits he had reservations about initially.

“It was completely different to how I expected it to be. I thought it would be quite intrusive and they would be on my shoulder the whole day but they weren’t, they were excellent.

“When I had to do my bits to the camera I did those, but when I had to do my job they melted into the background and I forgot they were there.”

Simon Chivers
Police and football have never been the easiest of bedfellows – the tragedy of Hillsborough tells us that – but the officer reveals he was happy to be involved as he was keen for the force and his unit to be seen in a different light.

“I want to promote a positive image of South Wales Police and the football intelligence unit. I’m very proud of what I do and passionate about the things that surround football because I’ve been involved in it for a such a long time with the club as a fan and latterly as a police officer.”

Chivers, who was taken by his dad to his first match – against Rotherham United in 1986 – had been a regular fixture on the terraces at Ninian Park throughout the ‘90s and witnessed the violence that dogged the clubs for many years – to the point where Cardiff City was almost stigmatised by its own unwelcome reputation.

When he started out as a part-time police spotter in 2002, providing intelligence on fans to the South Wales Police football intelligence unit he was more than versed in the ebb and flow of matches, and so it was no surprise when he joined the unit full-time in 2006.

In those years he’s seen the club transform its fortunes – on and off the pitch. Cardiff City Football Club is unrecognisable from those dark days in the ‘90s, twice winning family club of the year in recent times and projecting an image that is a million miles away from the snarling beast of yesteryear.



Chivers attributes this startling transformation to two major factors: “Before, fans were seen very much as the problem and not part of the solution,” he says. “That isn’t the way it should be.

“I can accept that there were times, certainly through the ‘90s, when fans did misbehave but the flip side of that was that there were many forces around the country that had a ‘meet and beat’ attitude rather than a ‘meet and greet’ attitude.

“They treated Cardiff fans poorly and behaved poorly which causes a degenerating level of behaviour at away games. The Soul Crew (Cardiff’s notorious hooligan group) were relatively small in number, but they would be involved in situations and act as a catalyst to start other Cardiff fans off. Then you would have a lot of people misbehaving in one place.

“What the current intelligence regime has done is to say that the majority of people who are going to come to your town and city to watch Cardiff City are law-abiding people who if you treat them well will behave well.

“If you have a minority who don’t behave well, we’ll identify them and you can deal with the people who are not behaving and not have a problem with hundreds of people – just those few.

“The other side of that is the introduction of football banning orders has really worked when it comes to deterring people from violence at football matches. Many of the hooligans who used to follow Cardiff City are football fans first and foremost. They didn’t just go for a fight, they went because they loved the club.

“So the thought of first of all losing your liberty and secondly the thought of not being able to watch Cardiff for between three and 10 years (the varying levels of football banning orders) have put a lot of people off it.

“I suppose in the early ‘90s there was very little consequence unless you were very unlucky about being involved in that sort of stuff but it’s completely different these days.”

Chivers gives a stark warning to anybody thinking of misbehaving at a football match in 2014.

“We’ve had one Cardiff fan who threw a single punch at a match and spent four years in prison. The deterrents are so great now it just isn’t worth it.”

Police 24/7 is on BBC One Wales tomorrow night at 8.30pm.

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I drank in the City centre, and then down Canton later on, maybe me and about 40 other of the Rhondda's finest were in the wrong places that night. As far as me and all the ones I was with are concerned, there wasn't a punch thrown all night! No one got chased, no one got done on either side, happy to be proved wrong.

17 at the time and remember it well ,Massive mistake putting the jacks in the grandstand. Should've gone in the grange end like previous games. Remember the silly fuckers made a home video of the destruction they caused and got done by the ob later on after they got a copy of the tape.

worst i ever saw.swanseav crystal palace at ninian park.city,jacks and palace all mixted together in the ground .went off all over the place. swansea fan stabbed to death in ninian park road.

If that's the worst violence simon chivers has seen, he's lucky he wasn't around in the late sixties and early seventies, he would have had a heart attack. Villa and Brum home 69/70, Leeds home and away in the cup 72 and 74, Bristol city away 74, man utd home 74, those are the games that really stand out for serious disorder.

Myself personally was in the Bob Bank that night.
Seats thrown by the Jacks at Children.



'The worst violence I have ever seen anywhere in my life': Football intelligence officer recalls South Wales derby clash

BY DAVID OWENS

Simon Chivers says the Cardiff City of today is unrecognisable from the one he supported as a boy on the terraces


Trouble flares as seats are torn up and thrown at Ninian Park on a dark day for the derbyTrouble flares as seats are torn up and thrown at Ninian Park on a dark day for the derby in 1993

Simon Chivers shudders at the thought of Wednesday, December 22, 1993.

Then the young Cardiff City fan was witness to one of the most notorious nights in derby day history as warring sets of Cardiff City and Swansea City fans clashed inside and outside Ninian Park.



The game was marred by Swans’ fans ripping out seats, Cardiff fans invading the pitch and running battles between both sets of supporters.

“I remember it vividly,” says Chivers, who is now a football intelligence officer with South Wales Police. “That’s the worst violence I have ever seen anywhere in my entire life.”

More than 20 years later and the situation couldn’t be more different. There’s not been any notable issues between the two sides for 16 years and the officer from Church Village intends it to stay that way.

The self-confessed Bluebirds obsessive has been with the force for 15 years and is one of the stars of Police 24/7, which returns to our TV screens on BBC One Wales tomorrow night.

VIEW GALLERY It all began in 1912 - the first ever derby between Cardiff City and Swansea Town. Here's the match programme from that historic day

The new series follows a week in the life of South Wales Police, the largest force in Wales. In the opening episode, the eyes of the world are on the Welsh capital for the first derby in the Premier League between Cardiff and Swansea.

We encounter the football intelligence officer and his team as they take on the enormous operation of policing the thousands of fans travelling from Swansea to the capital with the potential for trouble never far away.

For the 39-year-old, appearing in front of the camera was a unique experience – one he admits he had reservations about initially.

“It was completely different to how I expected it to be. I thought it would be quite intrusive and they would be on my shoulder the whole day but they weren’t, they were excellent.

“When I had to do my bits to the camera I did those, but when I had to do my job they melted into the background and I forgot they were there.”

Simon Chivers
Police and football have never been the easiest of bedfellows – the tragedy of Hillsborough tells us that – but the officer reveals he was happy to be involved as he was keen for the force and his unit to be seen in a different light.

“I want to promote a positive image of South Wales Police and the football intelligence unit. I’m very proud of what I do and passionate about the things that surround football because I’ve been involved in it for a such a long time with the club as a fan and latterly as a police officer.”

Chivers, who was taken by his dad to his first match – against Rotherham United in 1986 – had been a regular fixture on the terraces at Ninian Park throughout the ‘90s and witnessed the violence that dogged the clubs for many years – to the point where Cardiff City was almost stigmatised by its own unwelcome reputation.

When he started out as a part-time police spotter in 2002, providing intelligence on fans to the South Wales Police football intelligence unit he was more than versed in the ebb and flow of matches, and so it was no surprise when he joined the unit full-time in 2006.

In those years he’s seen the club transform its fortunes – on and off the pitch. Cardiff City Football Club is unrecognisable from those dark days in the ‘90s, twice winning family club of the year in recent times and projecting an image that is a million miles away from the snarling beast of yesteryear.



Chivers attributes this startling transformation to two major factors: “Before, fans were seen very much as the problem and not part of the solution,” he says. “That isn’t the way it should be.

“I can accept that there were times, certainly through the ‘90s, when fans did misbehave but the flip side of that was that there were many forces around the country that had a ‘meet and beat’ attitude rather than a ‘meet and greet’ attitude.

“They treated Cardiff fans poorly and behaved poorly which causes a degenerating level of behaviour at away games. The Soul Crew (Cardiff’s notorious hooligan group) were relatively small in number, but they would be involved in situations and act as a catalyst to start other Cardiff fans off. Then you would have a lot of people misbehaving in one place.

“What the current intelligence regime has done is to say that the majority of people who are going to come to your town and city to watch Cardiff City are law-abiding people who if you treat them well will behave well.

“If you have a minority who don’t behave well, we’ll identify them and you can deal with the people who are not behaving and not have a problem with hundreds of people – just those few.

“The other side of that is the introduction of football banning orders has really worked when it comes to deterring people from violence at football matches. Many of the hooligans who used to follow Cardiff City are football fans first and foremost. They didn’t just go for a fight, they went because they loved the club.

“So the thought of first of all losing your liberty and secondly the thought of not being able to watch Cardiff for between three and 10 years (the varying levels of football banning orders) have put a lot of people off it.

“I suppose in the early ‘90s there was very little consequence unless you were very unlucky about being involved in that sort of stuff but it’s completely different these days.”

Chivers gives a stark warning to anybody thinking of misbehaving at a football match in 2014.

“We’ve had one Cardiff fan who threw a single punch at a match and spent four years in prison. The deterrents are so great now it just isn’t worth it.”

Police 24/7 is on BBC One Wales tomorrow night at 8.30pm.

Just a small correction The Cardiff fan NEVER threw a punch & spent 4 years in prison.........nils for the west ham home game

Myself personally was in the Bob Bank that night.
Seats thrown by the Jacks at Children.



'The worst violence I have ever seen anywhere in my life': Football intelligence officer recalls South Wales derby clash

BY DAVID OWENS

Simon Chivers says the Cardiff City of today is unrecognisable from the one he supported as a boy on the terraces


Trouble flares as seats are torn up and thrown at Ninian Park on a dark day for the derbyTrouble flares as seats are torn up and thrown at Ninian Park on a dark day for the derby in 1993

Simon Chivers shudders at the thought of Wednesday, December 22, 1993.

Then the young Cardiff City fan was witness to one of the most notorious nights in derby day history as warring sets of Cardiff City and Swansea City fans clashed inside and outside Ninian Park.



The game was marred by Swans’ fans ripping out seats, Cardiff fans invading the pitch and running battles between both sets of supporters.

“I remember it vividly,” says Chivers, who is now a football intelligence officer with South Wales Police. “That’s the worst violence I have ever seen anywhere in my entire life.”

More than 20 years later and the situation couldn’t be more different. There’s not been any notable issues between the two sides for 16 years and the officer from Church Village intends it to stay that way.

The self-confessed Bluebirds obsessive has been with the force for 15 years and is one of the stars of Police 24/7, which returns to our TV screens on BBC One Wales tomorrow night.

VIEW GALLERY It all began in 1912 - the first ever derby between Cardiff City and Swansea Town. Here's the match programme from that historic day

The new series follows a week in the life of South Wales Police, the largest force in Wales. In the opening episode, the eyes of the world are on the Welsh capital for the first derby in the Premier League between Cardiff and Swansea.

We encounter the football intelligence officer and his team as they take on the enormous operation of policing the thousands of fans travelling from Swansea to the capital with the potential for trouble never far away.

For the 39-year-old, appearing in front of the camera was a unique experience – one he admits he had reservations about initially.

“It was completely different to how I expected it to be. I thought it would be quite intrusive and they would be on my shoulder the whole day but they weren’t, they were excellent.

“When I had to do my bits to the camera I did those, but when I had to do my job they melted into the background and I forgot they were there.”

Simon Chivers
Police and football have never been the easiest of bedfellows – the tragedy of Hillsborough tells us that – but the officer reveals he was happy to be involved as he was keen for the force and his unit to be seen in a different light.

“I want to promote a positive image of South Wales Police and the football intelligence unit. I’m very proud of what I do and passionate about the things that surround football because I’ve been involved in it for a such a long time with the club as a fan and latterly as a police officer.”

Chivers, who was taken by his dad to his first match – against Rotherham United in 1986 – had been a regular fixture on the terraces at Ninian Park throughout the ‘90s and witnessed the violence that dogged the clubs for many years – to the point where Cardiff City was almost stigmatised by its own unwelcome reputation.

When he started out as a part-time police spotter in 2002, providing intelligence on fans to the South Wales Police football intelligence unit he was more than versed in the ebb and flow of matches, and so it was no surprise when he joined the unit full-time in 2006.

In those years he’s seen the club transform its fortunes – on and off the pitch. Cardiff City Football Club is unrecognisable from those dark days in the ‘90s, twice winning family club of the year in recent times and projecting an image that is a million miles away from the snarling beast of yesteryear.



Chivers attributes this startling transformation to two major factors: “Before, fans were seen very much as the problem and not part of the solution,” he says. “That isn’t the way it should be.

“I can accept that there were times, certainly through the ‘90s, when fans did misbehave but the flip side of that was that there were many forces around the country that had a ‘meet and beat’ attitude rather than a ‘meet and greet’ attitude.

“They treated Cardiff fans poorly and behaved poorly which causes a degenerating level of behaviour at away games. The Soul Crew (Cardiff’s notorious hooligan group) were relatively small in number, but they would be involved in situations and act as a catalyst to start other Cardiff fans off. Then you would have a lot of people misbehaving in one place.

“What the current intelligence regime has done is to say that the majority of people who are going to come to your town and city to watch Cardiff City are law-abiding people who if you treat them well will behave well.

“If you have a minority who don’t behave well, we’ll identify them and you can deal with the people who are not behaving and not have a problem with hundreds of people – just those few.

“The other side of that is the introduction of football banning orders has really worked when it comes to deterring people from violence at football matches. Many of the hooligans who used to follow Cardiff City are football fans first and foremost. They didn’t just go for a fight, they went because they loved the club.

“So the thought of first of all losing your liberty and secondly the thought of not being able to watch Cardiff for between three and 10 years (the varying levels of football banning orders) have put a lot of people off it.

“I suppose in the early ‘90s there was very little consequence unless you were very unlucky about being involved in that sort of stuff but it’s completely different these days.”

Chivers gives a stark warning to anybody thinking of misbehaving at a football match in 2014.

“We’ve had one Cardiff fan who threw a single punch at a match and spent four years in prison. The deterrents are so great now it just isn’t worth it.”

Police 24/7 is on BBC One Wales tomorrow night at 8.30pm.

Annis, i was there that night, and was very much closer to things than you. You know full well that no seats were thrown at children, in fact there has never been ANY account given that this happened. Not from your club, the police or even Simon Chivers in the piece you have produced. Thankfully tho, none of you got hurt, and you lived to run another day!

2004 for me outside the old royal exchange pub in canton 30 jacks chased by 6 Cardiff & 1 chair up cowbridge road east the CCTV doesn't lie

64JACK....... "Annis, i was there that night, and was very much closer to things than you. You know full well that no seats were thrown at children, in fact there has never been ANY account given that this happened. Not from your club, the police or even Simon Chivers in the piece you have produced. Thankfully tho, none of you got hurt, and you lived to run another day!

Is this guy being serious??

Late decision by the club to take pity on the JBs and instead of them getting pissed on (it was hammering down) on the roofless Grange End, they decided to put them in the usually empty A Block. Below that stand in the Grange End Enclosure was the family section.

Who the Hell does he think the fecking chairs were being thrown at? Muppet !!

Kids and grand parents crying their way onto the pitchside.

Never been so angry at a football match. Wankers!!

Jacks-fuck all and never will be.Man utd 1974 and Chelsea a couple of times were much worse than this.Anyone can chuck a few seats about!!

I was there and I didn't see any punches thrown by Cardiff. All I saw was loads of jacks turning up late in a police escort totally waster on archers and lemonade. They went nuts in the ground safely away from most of the city fans although a few dads protecting their families did pretty well at defending themselves from these drunk cowardly twerps.

For me it was a bit like the Leeds FA Cup game. Lots of reports of trouble despite me and my mates not seeing a single punch thrown before, during and after the game. Just lots of scared Leeds fans as thousands of normal city fans invaded the pitch to celebrate not to attack the whippet shaggers.

The games where there was heaps of trouble like your Boltons, Chesterfields, Brizzle etc away were rarely reported and it was rarely just city fans dishing it out.

I was once on a train from Cardiff to Manchester and when I got to Shrewsbury (they were playing Swansea) a load of old drunk Jacks were picking on shoppers on the platform. It was rely quite sad.

Sums the jacks up this does.....me & a mate both 16 years of age set off from Central train station a good few years ago to watch city v bury & the jacks were at Oldham(I think it was the FA cup)we got on the train at Cardiff Central with a good 60 older jacks already sat in the next carriage,the train got to Shrewsbury and broke down,while awaiting a replacement train 6 jacks approached us &'asked if we were Cardiff blah blah blah......tried roughing us up & spat in my mates face(these were 30+Year old males mind you)& told us to make sure we brought a 'firm' with us on the train back home!anyway long story short on the way back we tagged along with 25 port talbot blues at Piccadilly & jumped on the same train as the JB'S funny they never came near us the whole journey home!!they then smashed up their train carriage on arrival at Central & a few of the mugs got nicked for it!!

Is it just me that cannot find this prog on any channel this week ?

Is it just me that cannot find this prog on any channel this week ?

I've looked also and can't find it

I think this statement was made in 2014 by chivers guys

I think this statement was made in 2014 by chivers guys

So I've missed it then, don't think my catch up TV goes back that far

One that sticks in my mind, Hereford away 1982 WC. Evening match, dont know why it started, but they fought the police for most of the 1st half, and some of the second half, down the front at the away end, some of it quite brutal.

Just kept going on and on.

64 Jack, its called denial. You tough nuts were throwing seats at Families, I saw it.

I think this statement was made in 2014 by chivers guys

So I've missed it then, don't think my catch up TV goes back that far

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZxVmcxXRAM

Jacks throwing seats ..... Cardiff running on the pitch

You can see the jacks throwing seats into the family section

Myself personally was in the Bob Bank that night.
Seats thrown by the Jacks at Children.



'The worst violence I have ever seen anywhere in my life': Football intelligence officer recalls South Wales derby clash

BY DAVID OWENS

Simon Chivers says the Cardiff City of today is unrecognisable from the one he supported as a boy on the terraces


Trouble flares as seats are torn up and thrown at Ninian Park on a dark day for the derbyTrouble flares as seats are torn up and thrown at Ninian Park on a dark day for the derby in 1993

Simon Chivers shudders at the thought of Wednesday, December 22, 1993.

Then the young Cardiff City fan was witness to one of the most notorious nights in derby day history as warring sets of Cardiff City and Swansea City fans clashed inside and outside Ninian Park.



The game was marred by Swans’ fans ripping out seats, Cardiff fans invading the pitch and running battles between both sets of supporters.

“I remember it vividly,” says Chivers, who is now a football intelligence officer with South Wales Police. “That’s the worst violence I have ever seen anywhere in my entire life.”

More than 20 years later and the situation couldn’t be more different. There’s not been any notable issues between the two sides for 16 years and the officer from Church Village intends it to stay that way.

The self-confessed Bluebirds obsessive has been with the force for 15 years and is one of the stars of Police 24/7, which returns to our TV screens on BBC One Wales tomorrow night.

VIEW GALLERY It all began in 1912 - the first ever derby between Cardiff City and Swansea Town. Here's the match programme from that historic day

The new series follows a week in the life of South Wales Police, the largest force in Wales. In the opening episode, the eyes of the world are on the Welsh capital for the first derby in the Premier League between Cardiff and Swansea.

We encounter the football intelligence officer and his team as they take on the enormous operation of policing the thousands of fans travelling from Swansea to the capital with the potential for trouble never far away.

For the 39-year-old, appearing in front of the camera was a unique experience – one he admits he had reservations about initially.

“It was completely different to how I expected it to be. I thought it would be quite intrusive and they would be on my shoulder the whole day but they weren’t, they were excellent.

“When I had to do my bits to the camera I did those, but when I had to do my job they melted into the background and I forgot they were there.”

Simon Chivers
Police and football have never been the easiest of bedfellows – the tragedy of Hillsborough tells us that – but the officer reveals he was happy to be involved as he was keen for the force and his unit to be seen in a different light.

“I want to promote a positive image of South Wales Police and the football intelligence unit. I’m very proud of what I do and passionate about the things that surround football because I’ve been involved in it for a such a long time with the club as a fan and latterly as a police officer.”

Chivers, who was taken by his dad to his first match – against Rotherham United in 1986 – had been a regular fixture on the terraces at Ninian Park throughout the ‘90s and witnessed the violence that dogged the clubs for many years – to the point where Cardiff City was almost stigmatised by its own unwelcome reputation.

When he started out as a part-time police spotter in 2002, providing intelligence on fans to the South Wales Police football intelligence unit he was more than versed in the ebb and flow of matches, and so it was no surprise when he joined the unit full-time in 2006.

In those years he’s seen the club transform its fortunes – on and off the pitch. Cardiff City Football Club is unrecognisable from those dark days in the ‘90s, twice winning family club of the year in recent times and projecting an image that is a million miles away from the snarling beast of yesteryear.



Chivers attributes this startling transformation to two major factors: “Before, fans were seen very much as the problem and not part of the solution,” he says. “That isn’t the way it should be.

“I can accept that there were times, certainly through the ‘90s, when fans did misbehave but the flip side of that was that there were many forces around the country that had a ‘meet and beat’ attitude rather than a ‘meet and greet’ attitude.

“They treated Cardiff fans poorly and behaved poorly which causes a degenerating level of behaviour at away games. The Soul Crew (Cardiff’s notorious hooligan group) were relatively small in number, but they would be involved in situations and act as a catalyst to start other Cardiff fans off. Then you would have a lot of people misbehaving in one place.

“What the current intelligence regime has done is to say that the majority of people who are going to come to your town and city to watch Cardiff City are law-abiding people who if you treat them well will behave well.

“If you have a minority who don’t behave well, we’ll identify them and you can deal with the people who are not behaving and not have a problem with hundreds of people – just those few.

“The other side of that is the introduction of football banning orders has really worked when it comes to deterring people from violence at football matches. Many of the hooligans who used to follow Cardiff City are football fans first and foremost. They didn’t just go for a fight, they went because they loved the club.

“So the thought of first of all losing your liberty and secondly the thought of not being able to watch Cardiff for between three and 10 years (the varying levels of football banning orders) have put a lot of people off it.

“I suppose in the early ‘90s there was very little consequence unless you were very unlucky about being involved in that sort of stuff but it’s completely different these days.”

Chivers gives a stark warning to anybody thinking of misbehaving at a football match in 2014.

“We’ve had one Cardiff fan who threw a single punch at a match and spent four years in prison. The deterrents are so great now it just isn’t worth it.”

Police 24/7 is on BBC One Wales tomorrow night at 8.30pm.

Annis, i was there that night, and was very much closer to things than you. You know full well that no seats were thrown at children, in fact there has never been ANY account given that this happened. Not from your club, the police or even Simon Chivers in the piece you have produced. Thankfully tho, none of you got hurt, and you lived to run another day!

Utter horse shit. Following the all-familiar jack mantra - say it often enough & it becomes the truth.

I was also there - in Block C, next to the wankers from the West, along with around 30 other Cardiff. My tickets were for the Directors box, the row behind the away directors. I jumped the small wall, incensed when your gutless bastards started throwing seats into the enclosure below - which was the family enclosure at the time.

You weren't that brave with the few Cardiff that stood against you in the stand - but when others came across the pitch you lot completely lost your bottle. That's the facts on the matter, not your fairy story.

JACKanory JACKanory

if that is the worst FV Chivers has seen he needs to get out a bit more often

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZxVmcxXRAM

Jacks throwing seats ..... Cardiff running on the pitch

You can see the jacks throwing seats into the family section

I was in there with my dad.
13 years old and starry eyed.

Myself personally was in the Bob Bank that night.
Seats thrown by the Jacks at Children.



'The worst violence I have ever seen anywhere in my life': Football intelligence officer recalls South Wales derby clash

BY DAVID OWENS

Simon Chivers says the Cardiff City of today is unrecognisable from the one he supported as a boy on the terraces


Trouble flares as seats are torn up and thrown at Ninian Park on a dark day for the derbyTrouble flares as seats are torn up and thrown at Ninian Park on a dark day for the derby in 1993

Simon Chivers shudders at the thought of Wednesday, December 22, 1993.

Then the young Cardiff City fan was witness to one of the most notorious nights in derby day history as warring sets of Cardiff City and Swansea City fans clashed inside and outside Ninian Park.



The game was marred by Swans’ fans ripping out seats, Cardiff fans invading the pitch and running battles between both sets of supporters.

“I remember it vividly,” says Chivers, who is now a football intelligence officer with South Wales Police. “That’s the worst violence I have ever seen anywhere in my entire life.”

More than 20 years later and the situation couldn’t be more different. There’s not been any notable issues between the two sides for 16 years and the officer from Church Village intends it to stay that way.

The self-confessed Bluebirds obsessive has been with the force for 15 years and is one of the stars of Police 24/7, which returns to our TV screens on BBC One Wales tomorrow night.

VIEW GALLERY It all began in 1912 - the first ever derby between Cardiff City and Swansea Town. Here's the match programme from that historic day

The new series follows a week in the life of South Wales Police, the largest force in Wales. In the opening episode, the eyes of the world are on the Welsh capital for the first derby in the Premier League between Cardiff and Swansea.

We encounter the football intelligence officer and his team as they take on the enormous operation of policing the thousands of fans travelling from Swansea to the capital with the potential for trouble never far away.

For the 39-year-old, appearing in front of the camera was a unique experience – one he admits he had reservations about initially.

“It was completely different to how I expected it to be. I thought it would be quite intrusive and they would be on my shoulder the whole day but they weren’t, they were excellent.

“When I had to do my bits to the camera I did those, but when I had to do my job they melted into the background and I forgot they were there.”

Simon Chivers
Police and football have never been the easiest of bedfellows – the tragedy of Hillsborough tells us that – but the officer reveals he was happy to be involved as he was keen for the force and his unit to be seen in a different light.

“I want to promote a positive image of South Wales Police and the football intelligence unit. I’m very proud of what I do and passionate about the things that surround football because I’ve been involved in it for a such a long time with the club as a fan and latterly as a police officer.”

Chivers, who was taken by his dad to his first match – against Rotherham United in 1986 – had been a regular fixture on the terraces at Ninian Park throughout the ‘90s and witnessed the violence that dogged the clubs for many years – to the point where Cardiff City was almost stigmatised by its own unwelcome reputation.

When he started out as a part-time police spotter in 2002, providing intelligence on fans to the South Wales Police football intelligence unit he was more than versed in the ebb and flow of matches, and so it was no surprise when he joined the unit full-time in 2006.

In those years he’s seen the club transform its fortunes – on and off the pitch. Cardiff City Football Club is unrecognisable from those dark days in the ‘90s, twice winning family club of the year in recent times and projecting an image that is a million miles away from the snarling beast of yesteryear.



Chivers attributes this startling transformation to two major factors: “Before, fans were seen very much as the problem and not part of the solution,” he says. “That isn’t the way it should be.

“I can accept that there were times, certainly through the ‘90s, when fans did misbehave but the flip side of that was that there were many forces around the country that had a ‘meet and beat’ attitude rather than a ‘meet and greet’ attitude.

“They treated Cardiff fans poorly and behaved poorly which causes a degenerating level of behaviour at away games. The Soul Crew (Cardiff’s notorious hooligan group) were relatively small in number, but they would be involved in situations and act as a catalyst to start other Cardiff fans off. Then you would have a lot of people misbehaving in one place.

“What the current intelligence regime has done is to say that the majority of people who are going to come to your town and city to watch Cardiff City are law-abiding people who if you treat them well will behave well.

“If you have a minority who don’t behave well, we’ll identify them and you can deal with the people who are not behaving and not have a problem with hundreds of people – just those few.

“The other side of that is the introduction of football banning orders has really worked when it comes to deterring people from violence at football matches. Many of the hooligans who used to follow Cardiff City are football fans first and foremost. They didn’t just go for a fight, they went because they loved the club.

“So the thought of first of all losing your liberty and secondly the thought of not being able to watch Cardiff for between three and 10 years (the varying levels of football banning orders) have put a lot of people off it.

“I suppose in the early ‘90s there was very little consequence unless you were very unlucky about being involved in that sort of stuff but it’s completely different these days.”

Chivers gives a stark warning to anybody thinking of misbehaving at a football match in 2014.

“We’ve had one Cardiff fan who threw a single punch at a match and spent four years in prison. The deterrents are so great now it just isn’t worth it.”

Police 24/7 is on BBC One Wales tomorrow night at 8.30pm.

Annis, i was there that night, and was very much closer to things than you. You know full well that no seats were thrown at children, in fact there has never been ANY account given that this happened. Not from your club, the police or even Simon Chivers in the piece you have produced. Thankfully tho, none of you got hurt, and you lived to run another day!

Utter horse shit. Following the all-familiar jack mantra - say it often enough & it becomes the truth.

I was also there - in Block C, next to the wankers from the West, along with around 30 other Cardiff. My tickets were for the Directors box, the row behind the away directors. I jumped the small wall, incensed when your gutless bastards started throwing seats into the enclosure below - which was the family enclosure at the time.

You weren't that brave with the few Cardiff that stood against you in the stand - but when others came across the pitch you lot completely lost your bottle. That's the facts on the matter, not your fairy story.

How did we 'lose our bottle' when you ran across the pitch? Because that's all you did was .......run across the pitch!
However, my reply to Annis was meant to be a bit of light hearted banter. If anyone can honestly get upset about that 23 years after the event seriously needs to get a life!

I'm gutted, I forgot to record this before I left this morning.

I'm gutted, I forgot to record this before I left this morning.

2 years late mate ,Maybe on YouTube

Annis, i was there that night, and was very much closer to things than you. You know full well that no seats were thrown at children, in fact there has never been ANY account given that this happened. Not from your club, the police or even Simon Chivers in the piece you have produced. Thankfully tho, none of you got hurt, and you lived to run another day!

Utter horse shit. Following the all-familiar jack mantra - say it often enough & it becomes the truth.

I was also there - in Block C, next to the wankers from the West, along with around 30 other Cardiff. My tickets were for the Directors box, the row behind the away directors. I jumped the small wall, incensed when your gutless bastards started throwing seats into the enclosure below - which was the family enclosure at the time.

You weren't that brave with the few Cardiff that stood against you in the stand - but when others came across the pitch you lot completely lost your bottle. That's the facts on the matter, not your fairy story.

How did we 'lose our bottle' when you ran across the pitch? Because that's all you did was .......run across the pitch!
However, my reply to Annis was meant to be a bit of light hearted banter. If anyone can honestly get upset about that 23 years after the event seriously needs to get a life!

Correct, and that's allwe needed to do. When the boys got to the bottom of the enclosure, your lot seemed to lose their appetite & it all died down. I'd call that losing your bottle. Really fancied your chances against the dads & kids though in fairness, heroes every one of you

Yippeee

It's that time of year again when this gets brought up I thought I had missed it

Simon Chivers shudders at the thought of Wednesday, December 22, 1993.

One that sticks in my mind, Hereford away 1982 WC. Evening match, dont know why it started, but they fought the police for most of the 1st half, and some of the second half, down the front at the away end, some of it quite brutal.

Just kept going on and on.

64 Jack, its called denial. You tough nuts were throwing seats at Families, I saw it.

One of my favourite matches, went up on the train lovely sunny day, Cider was probably to blame for the trouble, as for the jacks the only real trouble was when we went to their dive . The only proper trouble I ve seen at Ninian park was caused by the big London teams, Chelsea in particular.

Annis, i was there that night, and was very much closer to things than you. You know full well that no seats were thrown at children, in fact there has never been ANY account given that this happened. Not from your club, the police or even Simon Chivers in the piece you have produced. Thankfully tho, none of you got hurt, and you lived to run another day!

Utter horse shit. Following the all-familiar jack mantra - say it often enough & it becomes the truth.

I was also there - in Block C, next to the wankers from the West, along with around 30 other Cardiff. My tickets were for the Directors box, the row behind the away directors. I jumped the small wall, incensed when your gutless bastards started throwing seats into the enclosure below - which was the family enclosure at the time.

You weren't that brave with the few Cardiff that stood against you in the stand - but when others came across the pitch you lot completely lost your bottle. That's the facts on the matter, not your fairy story.

How did we 'lose our bottle' when you ran across the pitch? Because that's all you did was .......run across the pitch!
However, my reply to Annis was meant to be a bit of light hearted banter. If anyone can honestly get upset about that 23 years after the event seriously needs to get a life!

Correct, and that's allwe needed to do. When the boys got to the bottom of the enclosure, your lot seemed to lose their appetite & it all died down. I'd call that losing your bottle. Really fancied your chances against the dads & kids though in fairness, heroes every one of you

Whet, that's all you needed to do was run across the pitch? You never got anywhere near the enclosure mun, you all ran back when a few coppers confronted you!