Fosse Boy Posted 25 June 2010 Posted 25 June 2010 Police payout after fans 'locked in' pub before match Eighty football fans have shared nearly £200,000 in compensation and won an apology from police who trapped them in a pub before a Manchester United game. The Stoke City supporters said they were told to "urinate into cups" after officers banned them from the toilet at the pub in Irlam, Greater Manchester. They were then put on coaches and taken back to Stoke-on-Trent just hours before kick-off in November 2008. Greater Manchester Police admitted acting "erroneously". Under section 27 of the Violent Crime Reduction Act, police are allowed to give directions to individuals who represent a risk of disorder. However, the Football Supporters' Federation (FSF), which represented many of the fans, said they were not causing any trouble in the pub. An FSF spokesman said they even spoke to the pub landlord who said the supporters were so well-behaved he would make them sandwiches if they returned. Continue reading the main story Malcolm Clarke, chair of the FSF, said: "The police imprisoned these fans in a pub and refused to allow them to use the toilets. "They then illegally served them with notices, hired some coaches and just deposited them in the middle of Stoke - they broke the law and now they are paying out for it. "Ironically Stoke lost the match 5-0, so they did not miss too much and many of the fans can use the compensation for their season tickets." The total amount paid out to the 80 supporters was £184,850, the police confirmed. GMP said it had acted on "intelligence" but admitted that officers' actions were heavy-handed. Every person awarded compensation has also received a letter of apology from Assistant Chief Constable Ian Hopkins. GMP's deputy director of legal services Sian Williams said: "We have paid damages to complainants after finding that we had erroneously used powers under section 27 Violent Crime Reduction Act in November 2008. "At the time the use of the powers was new and we have since taken steps to improve our understanding of the legislation to try to prevent this from happening again; by dealing with the cases within legal services, we made a saving on handling fees of over £16,000." Regardless of what we all think of Stoke fans on here, this is something of a victory for supporter rights in this country given the way the rozzers tend to throw their weight around without good reason in order to justify their presence at football. I've read on other forums that the FSF are thinking of producing a handbook for fans detailing their rights if they fall foul of the law while supporting their team. Do people think something like this would be a good idea?
dandannieldanok Posted 25 June 2010 Posted 25 June 2010 Don't care how unfairly they were treated, that is an utterly ridiculous payout.
Webbo Posted 25 June 2010 Posted 25 June 2010 Don't care how unfairly they were treated, that is an utterly ridiculous payout. On average that's about £2,300 each. Not that much for false imprisonment and the money wasted on tickets and travelling.
Tommeh Posted 25 June 2010 Posted 25 June 2010 Despite my big hatred for Stoke, this is a great result for fans as a whole.
dandannieldanok Posted 25 June 2010 Posted 25 June 2010 On average that's about £2,300 each. Not that much for false imprisonment and the money wasted on tickets and travelling. You kidding me?? £2,300!! I'd happily be falsely imprisoned in a pub to pick up that amount of compensation.
Narborough_fox Posted 25 June 2010 Posted 25 June 2010 You kidding me?? £2,300!! I'd happily be falsely imprisoned in a pub to pick up that amount of compensation. Same.
Fosse Boy Posted 25 June 2010 Author Posted 25 June 2010 Bully for you lads. I'm guessing you've never had the misfortune to fall foul of overzealous police at football then? For me it's not about the money they're getting, it's about the police admitting they're in the wrong with regards to some of their practices at games. It is a fair amount of dosh yes, but it's the gesture the compensation represents that's important, not the actual cash settlement.
LCFC-ARAB Posted 25 June 2010 Posted 25 June 2010 Bully for you lads. I'm guessing you've never had the misfortune to fall foul of overzealous police at football then? For me it's not about the money they're getting, it's about the police admitting they're in the wrong with regards to some of their practices at games. It is a fair amount of dosh yes, but it's the gesture the compensation represents that's important, not the actual cash settlement. This Police 161537384 football fans 1
lcfc_jme Posted 27 June 2010 Posted 27 June 2010 As much of a joke as I believe Stoke City FC, and also Stoke City FC supporters, are, this is fantastic. Any football fans that manage to rightly secure a victory against the police and remind them that they will not get away with everything they so wish to should be commended. It's about time the rozzers were held accountable, good on them Stokies. But that's where my praise and admiration will end. I still hate them. Wankers.
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