From An Arsenal Fan

I just thought that I would share my horrific experiences of Sunday 6th April, 2008 – a day that I wont forget in a long while. It being FA Cup semi final day for championship teams Barnsley FC and Cardiff City. I’m originally from Hull, but I’ve been in the smoke for 20 years now, I’ve got a soft spot for the Tigers, but am a firm Arsenal supporter and an ardent England follower of 40 years, I am also a regular in the Globe at Baker Street, so I thought I’d pop my head in and see what was going on in terms of pre-match atmosphere…..what a mistake. The pub and the streets around were chocker with the worst level of thugs that I have ever come across in my entire life, all of whom were Cardiff ‘fans’. Now I know every club has it’s 2% of trouble making scrotes and Stone Island wearing granddads who should really know better, but this was something like I’ve never seen before.

Supposed Cardiff ‘fans’ none of whom have probably been to more than one game this season were on a free for all to degrade and disgust as much as they could about England. Chants included ‘England is full of ****’ and ‘English lovely person’ aimed in my direction because I had my Arsenal woolly hat on. I took one step in the Globe to see one idiot actually urinating on the floor to the delight of his mates who cheered him on to ‘piss on the English *****’. This wasn’t the infamous Soul Crew this was blue shirt wearing ‘fans’. I was gobsmacked and took a step back, as I did a bottle hit the back of a Cardiff fan next to me, I presume it was aimed at me.

He went steaming into the pub, and I left sharpish. As I walked away nothing but vile racist anti-English abuse was thrown in my direction. I was horrified, the Globe is a legendary England Pub and to see it treated in this way really cut me up. I’ve been to Cardiff on numerous occasions, to the millennium stadium to watch both football and rugby and I would never dream of treating, Wales, the Welsh or Cardiff in this way. I’ve seen trouble at games before, but the disgraceful behaviour witnessed here was something else.

On my way back I past a pub with some Barnsley fans in, I was going to have a pint with them, but then about 15 Cardiff including a very fat family with woman and kids walked towards the pub and started shouting foul mouthed anti English abuse at the Barnsley fans inside. When the doormen wouldn’t let them in, the fat woman who looked a bit like the fat scouse bird off of Shameless, squatted down, removed a tampon from her bits and threw it at the pub window, where it stuck like a limpet. This was in front of her kids, and is an image that turned my stomach and will live with me forever. A club like Cardiff who are a fair sized championship Club should not have this kind of ‘fan’ in the 21st century.

Having been back at work two days and sharing stories with friends and colleagues from across London and beyond I found that similarly disgusting incidents had happened elsewhere, one of my colleagues witnessed a Cardiff shirt wearing bloke in his 50s spit on a Barnsley shirt wearing child outside Euston Station! In Brentford, Ealing, Alperton and Camden Cardiff kicked off not just with Barnsley fans but with anyone who wasn’t Welsh, even in Reading on the way home they were causing trouble instead of celebrating. I want to share these terrible experiences with every club in the land – Cardiff city do not deserve a place in the FA Cup final on the strength of their fans behaviour, nor in the English Football league. I’m no Portsmouth fan and I know they have a good sized idiot following but I hope they stuff Cardiff in the final. This isn’t Portsmouth V Cardiff anymore, or Premier League V Championship…this is England V Wales. I’m proud of my country (and of The Globe my pub). I sincerely hope for the final it is full of genuine Portsmouth fans who I will be happy to share banter with rather than inebriated Welsh racist trouble makers with an agenda of hatred against anything English. COME ON ENGLAND.

 

I thought this was genuine the other day but seeing as it has now popped up on various boards I'm told not to be so sure. Apparently the tampon thing stems for the 80's?

 

And now ENGLAND v Australia 1st test next year is to be held at......CARDIFF


FFS!!!!

 

Instead of Lanc's. We knew we were having their test match from last summer when it was in the press.

Lovely stadium Sophia Gardens but the parking will be a nightmare.

 

Your kidding?

 

yep its true, sophia gardens currently being developed to hold 15 000, yes 15 000 spectators!!! puts melbournes 90 000 to shame!!!

 

Bad enough having English Cip Finals their. But an England Test Match thats just not erm...well Cricket really

 

No idea why but the cricket team is actually England and Wales.

(but usually has about 4 or 5 non-english in it anyway!)

 

oh the shame of it

and sometimes south african born people

and even one or two welsh

dirty horrible lot

keep england yorkshire !!

this arsenal fan above fella is mentally ill and has been posting this message all over the football messageboards

 

"Cardiff city do not deserve a place in the FA Cup final on the strength of their fans behaviour"

Oooh, good. Does that mean we get a bye to the final?

 

Well i think that should now be the end of the arguments on this site about what cardiff fans did or didn't do on sunday as those comments have come from a neutral person. so i think it's time bluebeard and the other bloke who keep ramming down our throats how well behaved cardiff fans are should now leave the site unless they have anything different to contribute

 

I don't believe a word of it

I think it's jingoistic codswallop.

 

I am merely pointing out love that if you come on here and say that cardiff fans were to blame for the trouble at cardiff in 2003 then I am going to tell you of the facts which were 23 barnsley fans were found guilty in a court of law of offences of violent disorder , public order and assault

other than that I am happy to discuss football which is what I have tried to do , giving best wishes to barnsley since sunday, talking to barnsley fans about their rivals, an interesting discussion I might add and hopefully how you will be safe from relegation in a couple of games. I have also offered to meet barnsley fans for a beer before the final game of the season and sent various pm s to fans wanting to find a safe pub to drink in. And also I have informed barnsley fans of safe, easy access parking for a few weeks time as our main car park is shut. I believe I have plenty to contribute to this site, wetehr or not you think so is your opinion.

 

Kane - Who knows if it is the truth on Weds before ??58 offered to meet me in Cardiff for a fight I said I believed it since then I have heard from Cardiff and other neutrals that it is lies. When asked about the Tampon thing I was informed it came from the 80's?

What has been proved is people have gone to other boards this week to talk about us. Other boards ie, neither Cardiff or Barnsley. Whats to say I went to a Wolves board as a neut and gobbed off about WBA.

The story mentioned above of course could be true.

Bluebeard I have tried all the things you have and got told to go away, got called a lovely person, and as mentioned even offered a fight. Other than denying we are a racist club and we are all thugs I haven't put a foot wrong, some Barnsley fans have the correct idea in that on the day people came from our club (some say both) and spoiled the day, yes there is a thing about which club had more, even 1 is too many but these people arn't fans and we as fans do not condone them.

 

I bet the days just fly by at your house. nt

 

cave, not house, or at least in my case.

 

well mate I will say this, as far as I am concerned barnsley are a great club and apart from one or two threats on here, and some people confusing facts with fiction, a nice bunch of people

keep it quiet though eh !

 

I fully agree and as every post I have made I wish them nothing but success in staying up as they are the only away fans I have had the pleasure of mixing with and didnt meet one fan who was out of order.

 

What A Hero

<img src = "http://www.techshout.com/images/marvel-super-heroes.jpg">

 

clearly I should have said the info about pubs , safe parking etc was for everyone..apart from you