Well that seems even-handed then!</p> Police statement Before the beginning of every season Southampton Football Club meet with senior police officers to review their plans for ensuring public safety. The matches are risk assessed at this meeting to decide which of these games, if any, can be ' police free '. Ever since Southampton went into the Championship League there have been police free games, the majority of which take place trouble free. If there are any incidents at one of these matches police respond in the normal way, appropriate to the situation, as happened in this case. Games are assessed on previous records and any intelligence we receive about possible trouble. The status of a police free game can be changed right up to when the match is played. For Saturday's game there was no intelligence of any anticipated problems. Football associated violence has decreased over the last few years and across the country police free football games are regularly held very week. Clearly, any future home matches against Barnsley will now be assessed taking into account the disorder at Saturday's match. I understand the club will hold a review of their public safety arrangements in light of Saturday's match . We will also be talking with the club to review what happened, exactly how it was sparked off and what could be put in place to reduce the risk of a reoccurrence in the future. This may include inclusion of police resources either inside the ground or outside. The matter is always a fine balance between committing resources to a game or not. If we do, then this necessarily impacts on the level of service that we are able to offer to other areas of the city. We do have the capacity within the Constabulary to respond to such incidents but this can only be achieved by taking resources from other commitments. As such, we have to be very much 'intelligence led' when deciding where to put our resources and as stated above, there was no intelligence to suggest that there was going to be a problem with the Barnsley supporters. In relation to the incident, around 15 people were involved in the disorder that led to one man receiving non-life threatening head injuries. The man who is from Fareham and aged 53, was not detained in hospital but was treated at the scene. Five people were arrested. All were men aged between 27 and 51 and from Barnsley . My information if that the first police units were on scene in about than 3.5 minutes and they were supported by others shortly afterwards. Once the incident was over the away fans coaches were escorted to the M3 by police. </p>
Should Know Better You would think people between them ages would have better things to do with their time than try and relive their mis spent youth. No football match should ever not have some police there. I also think the duty of the stewards should be looked at.
RE: How old are you again? I'm 24 and don't see the point in football violence. Obviously if it's self defence that's different.
Did he say "Mis-spent youth"? So all these people trying to recapture there youth have obviously missed out on watching hours and hours of wrestling, so decide to re-inact it on the streets of Southampton
Don't believe all you hear and read ............. ......... doesn't mention anything about CHARGING those arrested does it? to my knowledge at least 3 of those arrested were released without charge, albeit after 21 hours of detention! After witnessing what happened, it's amazinig that not one Saints fan was arrested ........ having said that, it's easy to make the away fans the scapegoats and most if not all of the fighting had stopped when the police arrived, hence it's probably more surprising that there were any arrests at all.
Depends who you call our lot ............. ......... two or three from our bus (Rising Sun) didn't come back with us, but none of what I class as our 'regular' team, who travel away together, were involved
It was Johnny Coachman. He was telling the Policeman how to do his job. He also claimed that he used to be the Chief of Police of the World. They arrested him for fiddling with a Police horse. Fact.
"There was no intelligence of anticipated problems." How about the fact that the same people who attacked the Colchester coaches midweek were going to be there?</p> "There was no intelligence" full stop.</p>
RE: Depends who you call our lot ............. what the bleeding hell happened to bus? ha ha the driver did bloody well to get it home
Been looking for TFP's missing hair... I've been to the vatican and everything.</p> The popes a right miserable lovely person.</p>