Childish England ‘Fans’ have their toys taken away

Why can’t these people just stay at home?

The BBC has withdrawn their initiative to have large TV screens in public spaces, link, after Saturday’s experiment resulted in violence in both Liverpool and London. Police were called into quell outbreaks of trouble, and the situation descended in mini-riots as fans clashed with officers and police dogs.

A five-year-old boy was hit on the head with a bottle.

When I was growing up my dad was very careful as to which Mansfield Town games I was allowed to go to (had he been a better dad he would obviously have taken me to see another team, but that’s a whole lot of other “issues” I have to deal with). Certainly I never went to any games against local rivals Chesterfield and Lincoln, or major cup games. During the eighties, watching football was a genuinely scary experience, with “casuals” (named after their casual-smart attire – Lacoste etc) fighting all over the country. In fact English football hooliganism became Britain’s most successful export since industrialisation.

Things have improved drastically on a international level, with – and credit where credit is due - Blair’s initiatives to sequester the passports of hooligans prior to England’s away games, and banning them from home games. We have slowly improved our image since the horrendous scenes at Italy ’90 and Euro ’92. It seems however that some people never learn, and we have a new generation of idiots, goons, and reprobates.

I would like to take my son to football in the future, and enjoy carnival-like outside public viewings, but as is so often the case, a few mindless pissed up hoodlums have spoiled it for the rest of us, and damaged England’s reputation in the process.