Scottish Footballs new throwing fad.

[gannonball]

20 minutes ago, VincentGuerin said:

We were discussing this on the train back from Ross County on Sunday morning, even before the Old Firm game.

There's a general change in behaviour that I've certainly noticed over the last few years and it's definitely sped up post-lockdown.

Quite a few teams, and Hearts are definitely one, have developed these Young Teams who all sing the same songs, wear the same gear, drink the same garishly coloured drinks, and are all out their tits on powder. Don't get me wrong, this kind of thing has always gone on. Back when I was going as a teenager and a younger adult some of my mates were into that stuff and we were all bevvied out our minds pretty much every game.

But now it seems to be off the scale. At The Mallard on Saturday I naively joined the queue for the toilet only to stand there not moving for a few minutes before realising nobody was waiting for a pish. Spoke to loads of people with the same experience. The ching crew was massive, loads of young boys out the game. It gives things a different atmosphere. Apparently one of them ended up spewing all over the toilets, but I never saw that.

I don't doubt that this sort of culture has led to what seems to me to be an increase in bellend-ish behaviour among Hearts fans. Quite a few away games I've seen things being damaged and stuff being thrown, one day at Fir Park a few years back sticks in the mind, and these bairns seem to revel in bringing back some pretty unpleasant songs that in the 2000s had mostly vanished from Hearts games and were certainly generally frowned upon.

Basically, I blame the wee fuds.

Yeah I have been feeling much the same myself, I’m probs being a bit of a Da about it and looking at my teen behaviour at the football through rose tinted spectacles but the amount of c***s getting chinged up for every game these days is way worse. That and being ‘protected’ by large groups of fans gives them a sense of entitlement to do what the f**k they want.

[Sortmeout]

This will never happen but if the SPFL/SFA want to do something about it then they should just start closing a section of the ground. If they think the bottle yesterday came from behind the goal then just close that entire section for the next Sevco home game, same for any other clubs. Fans will start to heavily self-police themselves pretty quickly if there is a real deterrent.

[VincentGuerin]

5 minutes ago, gannonball said:

Yeah I have been feeling much the same myself, I’m probs being a bit of a Da about it and looking at my teen behaviour at the football through rose tinted spectacles but the amount of c***s getting chinged up for every game these days is way worse. That and being ‘protected’ by large groups of fans gives them a sense of entitlement to do what the f**k they want.

I've spent years down south and always felt that going to games in England had much more of an edge to it. Even at League One or League Two level, but definitely Championship and above, loads of boys on the gear basically looking for bovver and very much taking the protection of the crowd to act in a generally scummy way. For people that don't go to English football, this is basically every English away support.

I think maybe the beginnings of this was shite like Football Factory and those hooligan documentaries, then leading on to all the videos of these p***ks on Youtube. The wee Scottish fuds have clearly been inspired by these, as I now find the experience of pre-match and often in-stadium Scottish football to be much more like going to an English game than it used to be. From the songs, to the clothes, to the prevalence of powder, to the general anti-social behaviour.

Like you say, it's important not to rose-tint the past. There have always been problems and these have always been wee dicks at the fitba. But it's definitely different now.

[gannonball]

11 minutes ago, Sortmeout said:

This will never happen but if the SPFL/SFA want to do something about it then they should just start closing a section of the ground. If they think the bottle yesterday came from behind the goal then just close that entire section for the next Sevco home game, same for any other clubs. Fans will start to heavily self-police themselves pretty quickly if there is a real deterrent.

To be fair Celtic have done that a few times now with the standing section, probs to stop any ‘official’ action being taken against them though.
With the aid of tv cameras and cctv now at least if they can’t identify the culprit of something like bottle throwing they should be able to localise the rough area of which it came from so the less people suffer from a ban. It would also encourage those nearby to grass the person up if they know they are likely to suffer consequences from it. I should add though a ban for people shouldn’t just come from one fanny day tripper though but if the area has history of this sort of behaviour.

Edited April 4, 2022 by gannonball

[bennett]

6 minutes ago, Sortmeout said:

This will never happen but if the SPFL/SFA want to do something about it then they should just start closing a section of the ground. If they think the bottle yesterday came from behind the goal then just close that entire section for the next Sevco home game, same for any other clubs. Fans will start to heavily self-police themselves pretty quickly if there is a real deterrent.

Self policing shouldn't be considered, it would probably just lead to confrontations.  Teams already spend a fortune on stewards and policing plus CCTV systems are already in place. 

[DA Baracus]

47 minutes ago, VincentGuerin said:

Quite a few teams, and Hearts are definitely one, have developed these Young Teams who all sing the same songs, wear the same gear, drink the same garishly coloured drinks, and are all out their tits on powder.

I said something similar to a friend at our game down in Ayr a few weeks ago. There seems to be a completely interchangeable set of younger lads at games now who could support anyone for all I know. Clubs could be hiring out this generic 'young team' and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Maybe one week Kilmarnock hire them then the next week it's us and the week after any other club. They all look the same (lots of Stone Island, the mark of an arsehole) and just sing that one (awful) song anyway ('Putting on a show') like you said, so no one would be any the wiser.

At Arbroath we left a pub full of them as too many of them were just falling around the place. One boy was passed out, and this was before 12.00. 

[VincentGuerin]

6 minutes ago, DA Baracus said:

 just sing that one (awful) song anyway ('Putting on a show')

 

Forget sectarianism, racism, violence, alcohol and drug abuse; It's time the authorities took action against that fucking song.

[DA Baracus]

14 minutes ago, VincentGuerin said:

Forget sectarianism, racism, violence, alcohol and drug abuse; It's time the authorities took action against that fucking song.

I'll be writing to my local MSP and MP about this.

[Hawkeye the Gnu]

As said earlier, throwing things isn’t new.

I have vivid memories of the following,

- standing on the terracing at Celtic Park being bombarded with golf balls and darts from the ‘best fans on the planet.’ They we’re actually quite clever using the open space between the fans to bounce the balls into us.

- as a neutral standing on the segregation line (ok fucking stupid I know) at a cup final at Hampden ( Hibs v Celtic) watching cans of Tennants being lobbed over my head from both directions, somehow feeling perfectly safe but still getting drowned in pish spewing out of said cans.

- in the Cowshed in Greenock, pre segregation, watching one totally pished Ned about to throw a crowbar at the opposition, I thought I was safe until the drunk c**t managed to somehow throw it at a 90 degree angle and nearly took my head off.

Happy days……

[johnnydun]

I know the throwing thing isn't new, I guess it's more pyro's nowadays. It never gets much publicity as apposed to a coin or a bottle, but can do just as much damage.

[WhiteRoseKillie]

2 hours ago, tree house tam said:

This has went on since football started. I remember as a young lad standing at the segregation at East End Park and before the game the netting above the segregation being empty, by half time it had loads of darts and golf balls with nails through them. I've seen confrontations with proper flares that can kill you fired at opposition fans, none of the pishy wee hand held efforts you see at the football nowadays. Fireworks thrown at any and everycunt on the way to grounds were common around November as well . I'd say it's just got a bit more sanitised and the wee fuds think it's great because it got mentioned on social media and loads of folk have seen it.

Yep, I remember similar missiles being launched regularly both at RP and elsewhere throughout the 70's and early 80's. One of our specialities, on a lighter note, was launching a (pre-"Killie Pie") pie at the segregation fencing, where the wire would separate it into several MIRVs of red-hot grease and gristle.

1 hour ago, bennett said:

Self policing shouldn't be considered, it would probably just lead to confrontations.  Teams already spend a fortune on stewards and policing plus CCTV systems are already in place. 

Stewards are an absolute waste of time and money. Policing should be done by the Police. Any investigation, such as yesterday's glass-throwing, should be done by the Police, not the clubs - and if the CCTV isn't available "for some reason", clubs should be heavily punished. My preference would be points rather than fines, as this would hit the supporters harder. Individual "fans" should still have the book thrown at them if and when identified.

[WhiteRoseKillie]

3 minutes ago, johnnydun said:

I know the throwing thing isn't new, I guess it's more pyro's nowadays. It never gets much publicity as apposed to a coin or a bottle, but can do just as much damage.

Didn't some poor bugger die after being hit by a firework/flare down south a few years back? I seem to recall a Welsh team being involved.

 

Found it. Fucking idiots.

[AB1872]

1 hour ago, Sortmeout said:

This will never happen but if the SPFL/SFA want to do something about it then they should just start closing a section of the ground. If they think the bottle yesterday came from behind the goal then just close that entire section for the next Sevco home game, same for any other clubs. Fans will start to heavily self-police themselves pretty quickly if there is a real deterrent.

Agree wholeheartedly with this. I wasn’t at the game but the bottle thrown at Hart came from the Copland Front (I presume) my seat is in Copland Rear so it would directly affect me but it’s the best way to stop this kind of incident. Object thrown from certain area close stand for next game.. then two games and so on and pretty quickly supporters will get the message. 

There has been an increase in this behaviour but yesterday was shocking , embarrassing and just an utterly shameful day for Rangers as a club. Thankfully we’ve got decent CCTV and hopefully those responsible will be caught and banned from all stadiums and heavy fines. Named and shamed! 
 

I was reading on FF that there were bottles thrown from nearly every area of the ground. Wtf is wrong with people? 

[Sergeant Wilson]

3 minutes ago, AB1872 said:

yesterday was shocking , embarrassing and just an utterly shameful day for Rangers as a club. ! 

 

 

Same old, same old then?

[AB1872]

Just now, Sergeant Wilson said:

Same old, same old then?

Yeh yeh very good 

[accies1874]

I honestly think it's got calmer at Accies compared to five years ago.

The support has got older with fewer/no youngsters coming along due to playing dreadfully for a consistent period of time. This means that there aren't really any hangers-on and the vast, vast majority are supporters of the team. That's not to say that there aren't folk getting bevvied and coked up as there clearly are plenty still, it's just that it isn't resulting in the kind of behaviour spoken about by the OP.

The worst you'll see at Accies games nowadays is directed at our own players/management/board members. It's hard to comment on a wider scale post-lockdowns as we've changed divisions.

Scotland crowds have definitely been different but I'd put that more down to us being good now and more folk going than any other reason.

[DA Baracus]

The stuff that happened in the 80s isn't really relevant here. That sort of shite hasn't happened for decades. 

[Spikethedee]

Appropriately qualified stewards are usually given a rough percentage of fans to search, or all fans of certain groups - usually 12-20 year old males - at the pre-match briefing, after discussions with the club and Polis. If people are serious about stopping this, then this should be changed to 100% of all fans, no exceptions. This will take a lot, lot longer, and will lead to fans missing the start of games if they turn up 10 minutes before kick-off after being in the pub.

 

That's the balance you need to think about - the danger of getting stuff smuggled in and the damage it can cause versus the extra time and aggro outside the ground. (Obviously wouldn't stop things like coins being thrown, as you can pass a search with them in your pocket for obvious reasons.)

[AB1872]

1 hour ago, DA Baracus said:

The stuff that happened in the 80s isn't really relevant here. That sort of shite hasn't happened for decades. 

Agreed. Lots of shit happened in the 80s that we simply don’t tolerate now. 
 

We shouldn’t be waiting for somebody being seriously injured before we take action. It’s long overdue that clubs were held responsible for their supports behaviour and if that means Rangers being the first then so be it. 

[VincentGuerin]

1 hour ago, Spikethedee said:

Appropriately qualified stewards are usually given a rough percentage of fans to search, or all fans of certain groups - usually 12-20 year old males - at the pre-match briefing, after discussions with the club and Polis. If people are serious about stopping this, then this should be changed to 100% of all fans, no exceptions. This will take a lot, lot longer, and will lead to fans missing the start of games if they turn up 10 minutes before kick-off after being in the pub.

 

That's the balance you need to think about - the danger of getting stuff smuggled in and the damage it can cause versus the extra time and aggro outside the ground. (Obviously wouldn't stop things like coins being thrown, as you can pass a search with them in your pocket for obvious reasons.)

Some of it just comes down to how they choose to prioritise things from a stewarding/policing point of view.

For example, a couple of police officers (that I saw, maybe more) came to the Mallard on Saturday afternoon before the game. They seemed to just be checking in, as it was trouble-free, just boisterous and a lot of folk seriously blootered.

Yet, if they'd gone into the toilets, they could probably have lifted whatever 15 or so of the Young Team were in there openly doing powder at that time. Now, clearly, they probably knew this and decided it wasn't worth the hassle. You can argue that one either way. But the point is that the authorities have tools at their disposal currently that they don't use.

If you make going to the football an occasion where the usual rules around openly taking drugs in public don't apply and general acts of disorder that would usually result in arrest are tolerated, then you can't really complain when a general feeling of lawlessness prevails. The police are basically telling these kids that the rules don't apply. Add a lot of drink and drugs into the mix, and you're much more likely to get bother and it's not all that surprising that it reaches the point of folk fighting and throwing stuff.

Edited April 4, 2022 by VincentGuerin