Stewarding today.

[Fatbloke]

Pillock!

Ass wipe !!!

[Fatbloke]

Erm. No.

If you are sitting down, facing forward and (preferably for them) remaining silent and motionless you`ll never have any grief from the Stewards. Tag onto that 'Middle Class', 'female' and 'in possession of a flask of luke-warm tea' and you can enjoy a match to your heart's content.

Whatever your opinions about biting-bloke may be (which appear to be confirmed by his willingness to bite one of the stewards) he was doing nothing that a third of the City support weren't also doing, standing and singing. Plus, as extraction techniques go, the manner of his treatment during removal prior to the attempted biting was obscenely excessive.

Dancing bloke is not the kind of chap we'd have around our place for fish'n'chips and I doubt I would enjoy a chat about Satre with Biting man...but that doesn't mean people are free to attack them for doing nothing wrong.

It was noticeable how the standard of stewarding imporved in the second half after most of those who looked as though they'd just been dragged from the doors of a second-class nightclub vanished along with their tubby boss. Thanks to the police for injecting a little bit of common sense.

The police were outstanding yesterday, a true credit to themselves before, during and after the game.

Oh Pl ease ! wake up and smell the coffee, "doing nothing wrong" you do not get ejected from a ground for nothing, and even if it was for standing he would have been told several times to sit down before the "Dickwods" had to resort to escorting him out, then as he violently resisted they were forced to use like for like methods to restrain him,

[Guest]

I can't believe anyone thinks that was a "reasonable use of force".

[Daggers]

Oh Pl ease ! wake up and smell the coffee, "doing nothing wrong" you do not get ejected from a ground for nothing, and even if it was for standing he would have been told several times to sit down before the "Dickwods" had to resort to escorting him out, then as he violently resisted they were forced to use like for like methods to restrain him,

Firstly, why pick on him and then not insist everyone else sits down? You either enforce a rule or you don't because going at it half-cocked is idiocy and leads people to believe that it doesn't matter. Stewards always pick on a few people and then give up. Every match. Why not just give up at the beginning and preserve a harmonious atmosphere?

Secondly, if you were watching the removal you will have seen him manhandled by three people in an aggressive fashion - two using armlocks and the other suddenly adopting a choke hold when things weren't going quickly enough for him. I'll admit I am not an expert on the law but this, from my sober perspective, appeared to be a grossly excessive use of force and was directly attributable for the response he eventually gave.

Apologists for this kind of behaviour sadden me. Excuses like this are used for everything from sitting down at stadia to the introduction of national identity cards and the ever-increasing sweep of CCTV across the nation.

Standing at the back of stadia does not constitute a health risk or a safety risk - but the inconsistency in the application of a non-standing rule does. At Stockport the stewards were polite and responsive to the problem - more people stood at the beginning but they never placed anyone in a choke hold. You are being terribly naive.

[SamL]

It could, i agree, but suprise suprise, it isn't. I have met some fantastic stewards over the years ( Rotherham, Southampton, Hull ) and then i've met some 'orrible fookers ( Preston, Fulham, Barnsley )

After visiting some of the grounds you have mentioned, I'd have to disagree. Over the last few years I've found that Southampton have some of the worst stewards around as JME found out earlier this year.

In my visits to Barnsley, I've never had a problem with their stewards. They don't seem to have a problem with people who want to stand, which is always a good thing.

I find it hard to believe that the chap in question was kicked out because he was standing up. I stood up the whole game as did many others around me and didn't get told to sit down once.

If stewards are going to try to enforce a rule, they should enforce it on everybody, not just one person.

I feel the bloke who got ejected was terribly unlucky if he got kicked out for standing up. If this was the reason, it's disgusting that he was handled the way he was.

[davieG]

Oh Pl ease ! wake up and smell the coffee, "doing nothing wrong" you do not get ejected from a ground for nothing, and even if it was for standing he would have been told several times to sit down before the "Dickwods" had to resort to escorting him out, then as he violently resisted they were forced to use like for like methods to restrain him,

That's why a friend of my sons was ejected by 3 hulking thugs from Filbert Way then - he happened to remain standing with several others a few seconds after the goal music stopped.

He was one of four on the back row, 3 seats in beyond 3 others standing, perhaps he was the most threatening - or was it because he just happened to be the smallest.

As Daggers said - Naive

[purpleronnie]

I can't believe anyone thinks that was a "reasonable use of force".

Fatbloke is obvious missing a few.

[Alexikokopops]

Oh Pl ease ! wake up and smell the coffee, "doing nothing wrong" you do not get ejected from a ground for nothing, and even if it was for standing he would have been told several times to sit down before the "Dickwods" had to resort to escorting him out, then as he violently resisted they were forced to use like for like methods to restrain him,

Manwell_Pablo got ejected at half time from the Watford game last season without a warning for standing. It happens. Maybe it's you who should "wake up and smell the coffee". Stop being so naïve.

[Zingari]

Oh Pl ease ! wake up and smell the coffee, "doing nothing wrong" you do not get ejected from a ground for nothing, and even if it was for standing he would have been told several times to sit down before the "Dickwods" had to resort to escorting him out, then as he violently resisted they were forced to use like for like methods to restrain him,

I agree with you ;

i've known personally only a very few people ejected from football grounds and by some strange coincidence they are the very same people that always seem to have trouble with traffic wardens , tax officers , police , school staff, benefits offices, dentist/doctor's receptionist etc etc

[davieG]

From Bentley's

Apparently it was their Bruin who was ejected.

LeicesterRino Posted on 01/09/2008 09:58

Witness StatementThat has got to be the most disgraceful display by a steward I've ever seen.

I was standing next to Bruin, he didn't raise his voice or use abusive language, all he did was to point out the obvious, that is to say there were two people in our seats, and if they wanted to move us we wanted two seats together. The chief steward merely repeated the same old argument that if he didn't "find" a seat he would be ejected. It took 5 stewards to get him to leave, there was a potentially a serious situation developing, it was only the calming influence of some of those in the area that stopped it turning into a full blown fight, and the stewards were seriously out numbered. Strangely I stood in the same place for the whole game and nobody asked me to move and the stewards came nowhere near again.

When I first got to the ground I was met by 2 "gentlemen" intent on making their presence felt by making sure that at least one fan wouldn't get in because the had dared to have a beer or two. Once we got into the ground a steward told us, "your seats are up there somewhere but if you can't sit down come back and we'll sort you out". So they clearly knew they had a problem, as posted earlier they were well out of their depth.

[cecchini]

In my view...

standing at football matches is banned (for the most part) by the FLA.

There is a lot of debate on the rights and wrongs of this but as of now, it's banned.

When you buy a ticket for a football game, look at what's written on the back, it usually says that by buying the ticket you agree to abide by the rules at the ground.

So why do people do it? Like someone said before, those guys usually think that rules are for others and not them.

If the stewards are over zealous (i was not there and rely on other posters who were) and heavy handed, it's usually because they like to show authority and to demontrate their percieved power (usually the same kind of people that don't like being told not to stand).

I perfer to stand, but if we unilaterally break the rules then where will it end?

I agree with the vast majority posting on this topic, There is no excuse for heavy handedness but if you play with fire, one day you will get burnt - sounds lkike the police used far more common sense.

Sorry i was not there.

Up the city!

[filbertway]

From Bentley's

Apparently it was their Bruin who was ejected.

HAHA Yeh I saw the picture, it really doesn't suprise me it was him to be honest . I've only met him once and he's a good bloke, but seems like he can get a bit carried away

[Fatbloke]

Love the "witness statement" really independent and reliable, I was standing next to (my mate) and honest guv he did nothing wrong, well I saw the ejection bit and the heavy handed tactics were only used in response to this fine, gentle and upstanding citizens violent attempts to resist. and I still maintain that unless you do something very wrong, you, like 99% of our fans will be left alone to enjoy the match.