PC Simon Chivers recalls worst night of football violence

Wednesday 5th March 2014.

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

' PC Simon Chivers recalls worst night of football violence '

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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 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.

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.”




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

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

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Thank you chivers for giving me and my mate a lift to leicster stadium last season when the bus left us in the service station

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 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.

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.”




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

There wasn't a punch thrown all night.

Swansea fans beat up the seats then refused to join cardiff fans who were already on the pitch by the old enclosure ( block a). That's it

There wasn't a punch thrown all night.

Swansea fans beat up the seats then refused to join cardiff fans who were already on the pitch by the old enclosure ( block a). That's it

agree..............i quite liked Simon.......but dont do fools and bullshit..............i was on sloper road at the same time as the jack special, Cardiff had a huge mob beinging held back with barriers and police under the bridge by the NP pub..on getting to NP the jacks were attacked by another Cardiff mob who were waiting in between the canton stand and club shop.......there was fighting that lasted no more than 2 or 3 mins before the police got on top and continued to move the jacks towards the away end { A block }/.. i made my way into the ground and watched Swansea start to fill A block.........
imediatlely in front of the jacks was the family stand {lower grandstand }..fortunately with no more than 30 families in there..the tough jack army started to tear seats out and aim them into the families, which enraged pretty much everyone in the ground.........its to this day the most cowardly act ive seen at a football ground...Cardiff invaded the pitch from bob bank, canton, and the enclosure canton side.. and as mr brackla said called the shitbags on.........not only did they not take up the offer but retreated further back up the seating, a lot actually made for the exits....later when everyone was in the ground,order restored and pitch cleared,there was more seat throwing between their boys..pmsl....and those in C block in the main stand .......for those too young..C block was the equivalent to our main stand now { where the more respectable people sat }.........running battles?.. bullshit..........as always they wanted media coverage, at no point wanted an off, just went for the soft underbelly and tbh didnt even come out on top against the bankers and florists sat in the main stand.

I can think of at least 20 games worse than that - this bloke is talking rubbish. Lost respect for people like him when they lied in court after the 91 cup game, most fans guilty, but a couple of innocents jailed unnecessarily.

I can think of at least 20 games worse than that - this bloke is talking rubbish. Lost respect for people like him when they lied in court after the 91 cup game, most fans guilty, but a couple of innocents jailed unnecessarily.

in all honesty..there was quite a bit of damage.........and as ive said a fight that was contained on sloper rd........but running battles suggests two mobs hell bent on fighting..never happened.........the bloke is full of shit and if thats the level of his experience maybe he should give leights a ring and get into lolipopping

I have spoken with Simon this afternoon and we were talking about this interview he gave. The game Simon was referring too was the 1991 cup game at the vetch and not the 1993 league match.

Chivers said that he did the interview over the phone and the reporter has written the wrong game and the wrong year to the one he was talking about.

He's old bill end of.

I have spoken with Simon this afternoon and we were talking about this interview he gave. The game Simon was referring too was the 1991 cup game at the vetch and not the 1993 league match.

Chivers said that he did the interview over the phone and the reporter has written the wrong game and the wrong year to the one he was talking about.

if thats true fair enough.........but like many at the 93 game i am still livid...........they came on a pr exercise, attacked families and respectable people..........at no point wanted to get near our lot........and ive read so much about the violence and running battles that never happened since............they got what they came for..media attention
and this article just adds to the myth...........how about the BBC seeking out some of these children that were attacked......

I was 10 at the time, and I was set in Block C, 7 or 8 seats away from the Jacks in block B.of the Grandstand. Can safely say that is most afraid I've ever been in a football ground. The sight of the old wooden chairs flying towards my head stayed with me for a long time. The sight of elderly fans running for their life (if you had take one of those chairs to the head it could have killed you) is something I never wish to see again.

How can any football supporter trust any of them they fitted up way too many of our fans OB once a c**t always a c**t

Worst violence nah get real. Chelsea at home 83 and Birmingham away same year. Millwall 2000 as well. Jacks away during the 80s would of been classic but the jacks just would not play.
Im sorry but ripping up seats aint violence so dont even warrant a mention very much the same when Bristol City beat the living crap out of tables chairs toilets and sinks.

I was 10 at the time, and I was set in Block C, 7 or 8 seats away from the Jacks in block B.of the Grandstand. Can safely say that is most afraid I've ever been in a football ground. The sight of the old wooden chairs flying towards my head stayed with me for a long time. The sight of elderly fans running for their life (if you had take one of those chairs to the head it could have killed you) is something I never wish to see again.

my point is,,not that it was not frightening for 8 year olds and old age...........my point is there were thousands of Cardiff willing to oblige them...........who were not under 10 or over 70............

the game that went under the radar was the Swansea vCrystal Palace game at NP 1980..

wasnt a derby match, but was without a doubt the most violence ive witnessed between us and the jacks.

I have spoken with Simon this afternoon and we were talking about this interview he gave. The game Simon was referring too was the 1991 cup game at the vetch and not the 1993 league match.

Chivers said that he did the interview over the phone and the reporter has written the wrong game and the wrong year to the one he was talking about.

ive re read whats been credited to him.................sorry Carl.....but 3 things....Ninian Park..........the cup game was down there........Swansea tearing seats out......didnt happen at the cup game.......Cardiff invading pitch..........that never happened either.................

Thought there was a bit of bullshite as that 1993 game took place on a Friday night not Wednesday.& I was in the family stand with my 2 mates & his children loads of seats ripped out family end & bob bank erupted spilled on2 pitch but that's as far as it got.jacks shit out.

He's the copper who came in the Prince when the derby was here this season trying to mingle with all the Cardiff fans for the camera??

the people that came tore seats out and threw them at children and pensioners should have been labeled the scum of the earth and cowards.............
instead the media chose to give them the hooligan street cred they so yearned..
and this cop {who obviously wasnt even there }..is infact adding to the riot myth..

yes the swans v palace game worst violence ive ever seen at ninian park,also a palace fan stabbed a swansea fan to death in ninian park road.the atmosphere was evil that night.

the people that came tore seats out and threw them at children and pensioners should have been labeled the scum of the earth and cowards.............
instead the media chose to give them the hooligan street cred they so yearned..
and this cop {who obviously wasnt even there }..is infact adding to the riot myth..

Theres a lot more to it than that, and to think otherwise is biased and blinkered in the extreme. You really have to ask yourself why 1000 drunken Swansea fans were allowed to arrive at the halt 15 mins before kick off when at the time anyone who was anyone would have been outside of Ninian Park. Trust me we fought our way down Sloper Road and even when we got inside the main stand there were battles on the staircase and underneath the seating. By the time we got up into the stand we were full of adrenalin and most as I said were drunk (it was the day before black Friday ffs)! Yes, it was terrible what happened inside, but to me the game should never have gone ahead on that day, and am still positive in my mind that SWP 'orchestrated' the situation so that fans would be banned from future games.

Pathetic if that's their claim to fame, like their tedious swim away,battered home and away for decades.

the people that came tore seats out and threw them at children and pensioners should have been labeled the scum of the earth and cowards.............
instead the media chose to give them the hooligan street cred they so yearned..
and this cop {who obviously wasnt even there }..is infact adding to the riot myth..

Theres a lot more to it than that, and to think otherwise is biased and blinkered in the extreme. You really have to ask yourself why 1000 drunken Swansea fans were allowed to arrive at the halt 15 mins before kick off when at the time anyone who was anyone would have been outside of Ninian Park. Trust me we fought our way down Sloper Road and even when we got inside the main stand there were battles on the staircase and underneath the seating. By the time we got up into the stand we were full of adrenalin and most as I said were drunk (it was the day before black Friday ffs)! Yes, it was terrible what happened inside, but to me the game should never have gone ahead on that day, and am still positive in my mind that SWP 'orchestrated' the situation so that fans would be banned from future games.

What stands out for me, apart from the bedlam of trying to get up Sloper Road from Ninian Park Halt was the chaos at the turnstyles. Everyone expected that, as normal we would be put in the open terrace behind the goals but that was shut and they put us in the Grandstand.

The police had managed to work it so the supporters coaches and us from the special train turned up at exactly the same time and decided that 2 turnstlyes would be enough to fit approx 1500 fans though with KO due any minute. The crush outside was horrific to the point where there were people who couldn't breathe and were being carried by the crowd without touching the floor (including myself at one point) and in the end the exit gates were kicked open in order to relieve the pressure. I dread to think what may have happened if they hadn't been.

By the time I made my way up to the stand it was clearly overcrowded with 2-3 fans standing around/on each seat and in the gangways.

I'd love to know why we were put in the stand that night but it wouldn't surprise me at all if was for the reason suggested by 64JACK.

i agree with 64 jack. we attacked them as they came off the train and plunged into them whenever we felt like it
as we made our way to the ground. we went into the grandstand with them and booted them up the stairs
until the police blocked us. as an aside i must say there were an awful lot of lot of jacks with moustaches in attendance that night!

i agree with 64 jack. we attacked them as they came off the train and plunged into them whenever we felt like it
as we made our way to the ground. we went into the grandstand with them and booted them up the stairs
until the police blocked us. as an aside i must say there were an awful lot of lot of jacks with moustaches in attendance that night!

Great first post you mug!

I was 10 at the time, and I was set in Block C, 7 or 8 seats away from the Jacks in block B.of the Grandstand. Can safely say that is most afraid I've ever been in a football ground. The sight of the old wooden chairs flying towards my head stayed with me for a long time. The sight of elderly fans running for their life (if you had take one of those chairs to the head it could have killed you) is something I never wish to see again.

my point is,,not that it was not frightening for 8 year olds and old age...........my point is there were thousands of Cardiff willing to oblige them...........who were not under 10 or over 70............

Totally agree. I didn't see a punch thrown, but believe me it was f*cking scary for a 10 year!

I was 10 at the time, and I was set in Block C, 7 or 8 seats away from the Jacks in block B.of the Grandstand. Can safely say that is most afraid I've ever been in a football ground. The sight of the old wooden chairs flying towards my head stayed with me for a long time. The sight of elderly fans running for their life (if you had take one of those chairs to the head it could have killed you) is something I never wish to see again.

my point is,,not that it was not frightening for 8 year olds and old age...........my point is there were thousands of Cardiff willing to oblige them...........who were not under 10 or over 70............

No there weren't. There were just lots of Cardiff fans who ran on the pitch thats all! ........and then they just stopped and went back to where they came from. I'm not being funny here but it was your ground being torn apart and you did f**k all about it! Don't pretend it was anything else!

I was 10 at the time, and I was set in Block C, 7 or 8 seats away from the Jacks in block B.of the Grandstand. Can safely say that is most afraid I've ever been in a football ground. The sight of the old wooden chairs flying towards my head stayed with me for a long time. The sight of elderly fans running for their life (if you had take one of those chairs to the head it could have killed you) is something I never wish to see again.

my point is,,not that it was not frightening for 8 year olds and old age...........my point is there were thousands of Cardiff willing to oblige them...........who were not under 10 or over 70............

No there weren't. There were just lots of Cardiff fans who ran on the pitch thats all! ........and then they just stopped and went back to where they came from. I'm not being funny here but it was your ground being torn apart and you did f**k all about it! Don't pretend it was anything else! [/quote

I was in block c that night with my 13 year old daughter and you definitely tore the seats out and threw them in our direction.
Nobody takes credit for anything that night and the two main culprits were the club and the police.
At the end of the day the simple answer was to open the main gates to the open grange end and let you straight in but I suppose the clubs greed for the gate money overrode public safety.

He's got a book coming out or something yeah?

were you "tached up" jack? them and your stonewash jeans confirmed your
position as the second city