' Brum Fan Punched to Floor By Met / Others Badly Treated '

' Brum Fan Punched to Floor By Met / Others Badly Treated? '

Snarling dogs and charging horses - how the police got it so wrong at Millwall

The policing of football matches cannot always be easy.

Birmingham Mail

Tuesday 24th October 2017


There are often myriad factors to consider when the extensive planning is put together – who is playing? Supporters of some sides and considered more high-risk than others. Where is the match being played? Some stadiums and areas make effective policing difficult because of space. What time is the match kicking off? Kick-off times for derby matches are often early to clamp down on pre-match drinking, for example.



For some games in particular the planning is extensive.

A risk factor is applied to matches in advance, with categories designated depending on a number of factors such as those highlighted above – the venue, the teams involved, the kick-off times and the number of supporters attending.

Millwall vs Birmingham City is a match that would have a level of risk attached to it. Millwall vs Birmingham City kicking off at 5:30pm on a Saturday is certainly a high-risk football match.

Millwall fans make their way to the ground prior to the Sky Bet Championship match between Millwall and Birmingham City at The Den
Plainly speaking, the history that surrounds the hooligan element of each club dictates that.

But that is no excuse for some of the decisions taken and the behaviour on show by some members of the police on Saturday.

This is by no means a blanket attack on the Metropolitan Police and its officers, because the vast majority did their job well by taking steps to prevent disorder. It is also worth remembering that the officers fans chat with and question are simply doing their jobs by obeying instructions from above - and that this is only my perspective of events.

There is a more deep-rooted problem with how football supporters are viewed by the authorities but that is also reciprocal to some extent with the contempt in which frontline officers are often held. That is a wider issue.

Beforehand, the policing tactics were perhaps a little intrusive but ultimately worked. Being told to move on from pubs is nothing new to football fans – although that the decision was taken a full 60 minutes before kick off came as a surprise to some. It's fair to say London brings with it unique challenges in regards to football policing with busy streets everywhere and a number of teams playing at home on the same day.

There was a small flashpoint with a large group of supporters at London Bridge, of which footage has since emerged and has been reported on, but that soon passed.

Footage has also since emerged of an officer allegedly flooring a Blues fan at the station prior to the match which can be seen below.

Some supporters were subsequently late to Den due to being held up at the tube station.

"We didn't actually get into the ground until 20 minutes after kick off due to huge police presence at London Bridge," Blues fan Matt McDonough told the Birmingham Mail.

He continued: "My overwhelming feeling was that the whole thing was completely over the top."

Once inside, the 2000-strong away end watched their side lose 2-0 with Millwall taking the lead through Maxime Colin's own goal before Ryan Tunnicliffe secured the points for the hosts.

After the match elements of policing turned sour.

As expected, Blues fans were held back after the final whistle to allow the areas around the ground to clear. That is a standard policy at some stadiums which supporters have become used to and the majority probably expected this would happen.


I later learned that supporters who had attempted to leave the match early were prevented from doing so, which, once the game had finished, caused a large crowd to gather outside towards a large locked gate.

That gate was, regrettably, attempted to be forced open by some supporters. Police reacted a placed officers near the gate, with some in riot dress.

Coins were also being thrown at this point.

While this meant that the gate remained shut, by now more fans has funneled out from the concourse and into the outside area which was blocked at the other three sides.

Frustration was building as supporters stood locked in a close-packed area with room to move coming at ever more of a premium. It was clear that a number of fans were distressed with a number voicing their concerns about potentially being crushed.

The decision was then taken to move a number of police horses into the crowd which escalated an already dangerous situation.


The horses are trained, of course, to work within large crowds but sending mounted officers into an area with no escape route had the potential to be extremely dangerous.

Some fans were left visibly shaken and a number of young supporters were upset.

One police officer then told me that they were surprised to see horses sent into a small area and highlighted that there was "no obvious exit route".

This obviously soured the general mood as fans asked why a group of horses had advanced into a contained area that was already cramped.

One fan described the incident as a "disaster waiting to happen" and it is hard to disagree.

Another said: "Met police made it 10x worse, especially at full time when it was too cramped even before they decided to rock up on horses."

A lot is often made of heavy-handed tactics used by officers on football supporters - and an 'appropriate' response from those on charge this was not.


Once fans had finally been allowed to leave the premises of the Den, there were long delays to board trains at South Bermondsey station.

And back at London Bridge, those making their way from the platform into the main station were greeted by dozens of officers, a number of whom had dogs.

Considering supporters were now making their way back to the main stations in London and towards home, did the sight of snarling dogs really send out the right message? After all, these dogs were pointed at every single fan.

I asked an officer why so many dogs were needed when the match had finished and fans were travelling home, only to be told rather aggressively to "move or the dog will bite."

It is often suggested that tactics such as these can provoke fans and actually cause disorder instead of preventing it.

And while supporters were not blameless, it was obvious that sometimes that suggestion rings true.

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Footage has also since emerged of an officer allegedly flooring a Blues fan at the station prior to the match which can be seen below.

Link
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/f ... s-13802329

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Jack Fairclough‏

Blues away or the London riots? Treated like animals. Police don't protect you, they control you!

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Metropolitan Police issue statement after Birmingham City's match against Millwall at the Den - Birmingham Mail


Tuesday 24th October 2017


The Metropolitan Police have issued a statement reports of disorder at Birmingham City's match away at Millwall on Saturday.

Three arrests were made for public order offences at the Den as Blues were beaten 2-0 by the home side.

Large groups of supporters were escorted to London Bridge station before the match while footage has since emerged of a police officer allegedly 'flooring' a Blues fan at the station.

Visiting fans were held back after full-time, with mounted officers deployed as five of their colleagues sustained injuries, none serious.

Local reports indicate that toilets, parts of the away concourse and a TV set were smashed.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “There was sporadic disorder at The Den after Millwall FC’s home fixture against Birmingham City FC on Saturday.

“Officers, including officers from the Met’s Mounted Branch, worked to keep the opposing fans separated and a number of officers, believed to be five, sustained injuries, none serious.

“Three public order arrests were made.”

A post match police investigation will cover incidents before, during and after the game.

Some Blues fans who made the trip to the capital got in touch with the Mail to express their concern at their treatment by police.

Lee Hinton: Majorly unorganised. Use of police horses not necessary. Police were the reason most fans became restless; fans were calm before horses.

Jake: Met police made it 10x worse, especially at full time when it was too cramped even before they decided to rock up on horses.



Ry Burns: Absolutely disgusting. Every time we go to London always get treated the same.

Chris Humphreys: The trouble before the match was caused by Chelsea fans after Millwall and us. Police were a bit rough considering there were kids about.

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Watch police officer 'floor Birmingham City fan' ahead of Millwall clash as trouble flared - Birmingham Mail

Link
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/f ... m-13801648


Tuesday 24th October 2017


A police officer has been filmed apparently flooring a football fan ahead of Birmingham City's game with Millwall.

The man, believed to be a Blues supporter, is seen falling to floor after clashing with officers in dramatic footage captured by a bystander.

Fans were being escorted through London Bridge by police when the man appears to confront officers. He is then seen clutching his face before dropping to the ground.

The video was uploaded on YouTube yesterday by Joe Robinson, who wrote: "Birmingham fans fighting police at London Bridge."

The Met have been approached for comment about the video.

The video follows Blues fans labelling police conduct as 'absolutely disgusting' as the two sets of supporters clashed in the capital ahead of the match.

Footage and photos posted online show police officers appearing to be shoved as they surround fans during a "stand-off" between rival supporters near the station in south London.




Witnesses stated that alcohol containers were thrown, smoke was in the air and a number of people were detained while fans taunted each other under a heavy police presence.

One Twitter user wrote: "Madness at London Bridge today. OMG. #PoliceDogs #CityPolice had to get involved. It looked like a riot to me."

Another wrote: "17:30 kick-off for Millwall v Birmingham is insane. Riot vans everywhere around London Bridge at the mo. Doesn't give football a good name."

One Twitter user wrote: "The road outside of London Bridge appears to be shut down by football louts lobbing alcohol. Yay for masculinity."

Another user added: "Stranded at London bridge....kettled to allow the Birmingham fans to get to the game on time.....bloody joke."

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Surely that Met Officer will be charged / Suspended ?

is it just me that finds all this a bit embarrassing.

Brum turn up giving it the big one . now they are crying in the press..with videos from the mobile phone crew.

Surely that Met Officer will be charged / Suspended ?

Doubt it annis it will be called reasonable force during crowd disturbances

Dont think the officer punched him at all.
The guy was being repetitively confrontational and the officer pushed him on his upper arm and he fell to the floor.

Surely that Met Officer will be charged / Suspended ?

Doubt it annis it will be called reasonable force during crowd disturbances

Allan, I do agree Brum fans went there looking for trouble, but they were not looking for trouble with the police and they were not attacking the police.
At this point of the day they were returning home and were loud and mouthy.

A pity the police don't react on foreign fans like this when they visit.

is it just me that finds all this a bit embarrassing.

Brum turn up giving it the big one . now they are crying in the press..with videos from the mobile phone crew.

Couldn't agree more it is embarrassing for them

Dont think the officer punched him at all.
The guy was being repetitively confrontational and the officer pushed him on his upper arm and he fell to the floor.

Went down too easily I thought, no foul, play on.

As for charging dogs, it’s just a bit of barking isn’t it?

All a bit pathetic and embarrassing

After reading this and brum fans comments after oir game i just find their fans pathetic.

Also what was the authority's thinking letting this game ko at 17:30 on a sat

After reading this and brum fans comments after oir game i just find their fans pathetic.

Also what was the authority's thinking letting this game ko at 17:30 on a sat

That's what I can't work out 5.30pm and they have both had serious trouble over the years and No restrictions ?

After reading this and brum fans comments after oir game i just find their fans pathetic.

Also what was the authority's thinking letting this game ko at 17:30 on a sat

That's what I can't work out 5.30pm and they have both had serious trouble over the years and No restrictions ?

Dont think the officer punched him at all.
The guy was being repetitively confrontational and the officer pushed him on his upper arm and he fell to the floor.

Went down too easily I thought, no foul, play on.

As for charging dogs, it’s just a bit of barking isn’t it?

All a bit pathetic and embarrassing

I can't work out how he went down like that and can only assume that he was drunk.

Whether he was pushed or punched is irrelevant in my book because as you say, he was being repeatedly confrontational.

This whole thing is being unbelievably over-hyped, probably because of the two teams reputations.

Anybody who goes to London Bridge is not looking for trouble. It is the one place at Millwall where you can 100% guarantee that trouble will not occur.

The fans were loud and boisterous but were not acting violently in any way - They behaved no differently to how any fans would behave, other than the handful of Millwall fans who seemed intent on stirring things up outside the pub.

Personally, I think any game other than a derby should be allowed to be played at 5.30. We're talking about football fans here, not the Taliban. Keep everyone at London Bridge, flood the place with police and there are no problems, as was the case on Saturday.

Dont think the officer punched him at all.
The guy was being repetitively confrontational and the officer pushed him on his upper arm and he fell to the floor.

Went down too easily I thought, no foul, play on.

As for charging dogs, it’s just a bit of barking isn’t it?

All a bit pathetic and embarrassing

I can't work out how he went down like that and can only assume that he was drunk.

Whether he was pushed or punched is irrelevant in my book because as you say, he was being repeatedly confrontational.

This whole thing is being unbelievably over-hyped, probably because of the two teams reputations.

Anybody who goes to London Bridge is not looking for trouble. It is the one place at Millwall where you can 100% guarantee that trouble will not occur.

The fans were loud and boisterous but were not acting violently in any way - They behaved no differently to how any fans would behave, other than the handful of Millwall fans who seemed intent on stirring things up outside the pub.

Personally, I think any game other than a derby should be allowed to be played at 5.30. We're talking about football fans here, not the Taliban. Keep everyone at London Bridge, flood the place with police and there are no problems, as was the case on Saturday.

agree with quite a bit of this.
but in their { Birminghams } efforts to make the police look bad they themselves look pathetic.
yes London bridge...strutting around chests out giving it big...???????????..these new away fans do my head in.. and i for 1 am glad we dont have 3k of them.

A bit of compensation filming there I think.

Also Met regularly allow potential disturbance to take place to justify funding from the council, in this case London and government funding.

If every game was allowed to go peacefully they would have to make further cuts. It also allows training to take place for new Officers.

Sounds mad but true.