Slo report re chesterfield

As many on here will know i was the only SLO attending the above game.

In total i received over 80 comments / complaints which were reported back to the club and the agencies involved.

In addition several fans contacted Derbyshire Constabulary by phone or letter. To date these individuals have not had advised me of any responses, although some had not even had the decency of a reply.

The comments below are my own as an independant onlooker, which is our role.

The Police were at best seen to be robust in their handling of the game. Because of their original instructions that fans would probably be held back after the game, due to previous problems with this fixture, they were placed in a position whereby if they let fans out early they were in a no win situation if trouble broke out. I understand that they moved the cordon outside the ground to allow fans to gain access to the concourses and toilets after the game. Access had been denied to fans wanting to go to the toilets with 20 mins to go as they saw the concourses as unsafe / unstable for fans. With jostling on the stairwells between fans and Police.

The Police described the Barnsley fans as "Spirited" with some fans arrested for fighting amongst themselves. One of our fans feigned illness/ injury and when assisted outside the cordon by paramedics ran off !!. Fans were allowed to go through the cordon if they had travelled by car, with fans for buses / trains being held back. I travelled by car and was allowed through the cordon.

Many of the comments received were heresay with only a small number of complaints backed up by factual knowledge by the individuals concerned. It is imperative that if you are found in a compromising position that you try to gain whatever steward names/ Police officers numbers to take the matters forward.

I know many of you will feel that this is not a satisfactory report and it is a "Whitewash". I was asked myself, "where i was when the problems on the concourse started with 20 mins to go" I was where we all should have been, watching the game. It is not our remit to steward merely to observe and report. Please feel free to talk to us at games, with any concerns.

Playing devils advocate, if we had been winning the game would any problems have materialised? Were events caused by us getting beat in the manner that ensued?

I also have to say that singing "Hillborough " songs is not appropriate.

We were getting beat at Rochdale but took the defeat in good spirit with the "plantpot " although again we had a fan arrested.

As SLO's we do want you to voice concerns, even when we cannot always, get a satisfactory answer.

 

not sure that is the answer a lot of people will be looking for , but its also how i saw it, do as your asked no problems , if we were winning no problems, and i was in a car so let out no problems, i reckon there might be a few less complimentary comments

 

"Fans were allowed to go through the cordon if they had travelled by car, with fans for buses / trains being held back. I travelled by car and was allowed through the cordon."

Who's view is that ? My experience contradicts that - and when we were let through there was no demarcation between how fans were getting home - an experienced officer on duty took a view that to let us out was the safest course. A pity his younger colleague who barged me and other fans as we left - no doubt to get a reaction - wasn't as reasonable.

I appreciate your position - but the run up to this game was fuelled by statements from Derbys police - on top of the apparent self loathing our club has for some of its own supporters. They got what they wanted in my opinion - a justification for their actions.

Instead of dealing with the trouble causers they created a larger problem.

 

Looks like the police have got away with it and the matter is being swept under the carpet. Nobody is going to go upto someone in power and go "excuse my officer i'm going to report you so need your name and number so I get the right person" are they? If anything they will make the person feel uneasy for even insinuating they would do that. The only other way is to get close enough to read their number on their shoulders but you'd likely be seen and someone will come up to you.

It's unfair of the police to film the away end but not film themselves. They have evidence of any wrongdoing, but if fans see anything we have no concrete proof just words and so nothing can ever happen.

 

Football stands have cameras. Every smart phone has a camera

 

Sounds like hearsay to me. And I think you've missed a 'w' off the title of your post.

 

My brother emailed the police and is yet to get a response. He was travelling by car and if I remember right, the guy who was driving was allowed through but my brother and another lad were made to wait.

Another lad I know showed me a video of one of the policemen being 'robust'.

Thanks for the update. I can imagine you've got your work cut out. Sadly it's the idiots who have caused this for the average football fan.

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Does that mean there was wrong doing by the Reds fans?

 

And I have known Police officers taking phones off people after having been filmed. Not at this game but still shows the length some of them will go to.


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"I was asked where i was when the problems on the concourse started with 20 mins to go" I was where we all should have been, watching the game '

no excuse for not allowing access to toilets at any time , I hope you made that clear to the Police

 

Isn't safety an excuse? If there was a riot in Barnsley bus station would you understand it if you weren't allowed to pop inside for a piss?

 

You seem to be dismissing having to use the toilet as something of a trivial act.to some people it can be very damaging and distressing.
There was no fighting near the toilets until the police stopped any access .access could and should have been allowed, they could have enforced their strategy and allowed access.I'm sure a proper investigation could prove this.
It was done to contain a small number of idiots without any consideration to the majority of law abiding citizens.

 

Whatever happened to the old law of if you need to piss in public a police officer has to give their helmet?!

Joke aside Thanks for taking your role seriously. I wasn't there so can't comment on personal experience. I hope any wrong doers on either side would be punished. I've limited the number of away games I go to due to a number of our fans being complete bell ends. That's personal experience.

 

I have no role in this.
But I cannot believe that a police force cannot contain a handful of law breakers without denying essential human activities .
This does not happen in home ends where more scrutiny is on the policing it only happens to away supporters where little sympathy will be given from locals .

 

Made me LOL

 

Thats what should happen isnt it Super Tyke?



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That is exactly how I saw it as well./ This game has stopped me going to away games because of the grief that is caused by our own fans. What a refreshing and balanced view. I took a young French lad who had come over to visit and was embarrassed by some of the behaviour of some of the people present. We were initially caught in the crowd outside but were let out of the cordon to walk back to our car. Myself, my ageing dad, my 15 and 19 year old daughter and a young lad of 7 years old witnessed 20 somethings and grown men spit, shout, swear and rant for the last 20minutes of the game at both stewards and cops. Thanks you for your balance and reason.

 

No

 

And why shouldnt they shout, swear and rant when being denied a basic human right, the use of a toilet? With 20 minutes remaining any fans wanting to leave should have been allowed to do so, even if it meant having an extra escort heading to the train station, saying you either leave now or at the end.


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I remember vividly the day that I spat at a teacher for telling me I couldn't go to the toilet during a lesson. It was the day before I assaulted a pilot for telling me I couldn't piss whilst on the runway and if I remember correctly it was about a week before I kicked a conductors head in for not letting me take a dump ina railway station as was my human right