Liverpool Crowd Trouble

RE*AC*TOR

Bit of a fracas between some liverpool fans and police at the milwall match last night. Been a long time (that I can remember anyway) that Liverpool fans caused any trouble anywhere. Sky news suggested it may have been a result of taunts from the Milwall fans about the Hillborough disaster. I don't know if that's true or not.

Teamtalk wrote:

Crowd trouble mars Reds win

Four supporters were arrested after trouble flared during the second half of the Carling Cup tie between Liverpool and Millwall at The New Den.

Away fans alleged the violence was sparked by chants relating to the Hillsborough disaster in 1989.

Two supporters from either side were arrested and 68 seats were ripped up. Seats were also thrown from the upper tier of the stand containing Liverpool supporters, while fans in the lower tier of the away end rushed towards their Millwall counterparts and riot police were required to quell the damage.

A disabled fan was injured at the perimeter of the pitch as supporters in the Liverpool end poured forward, while three supporters from the Liverpool section and one from the Millwall section were ejected.

Former Liverpool skipper Phil Neal works as a charity co-ordinator for the families involved in the Hillsborough tragedy and was at the game as a co-commentator for Merseyside radio station Radio City.

He said: "I just want to forget about the bad experiences. I came here and I just wanted to watch a game between Millwall and Liverpool under normal circumstances.

"If it was chants about Hillsborough that started the violence, then it was totally unnecessary.

"That was 15 years ago and the Heysel Stadium disaster was 19 years ago. Seeing what happened tonight made me rather subdued, and I had to apologise to my listeners because I did not say anything for about 20 minutes."

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez said he had seen "something" of the violence and added: "In the stadium you want to see only good football."

Thirty-nine people were killed at Heysel, in Brussels, before the 1985 European Cup final between Juventus and Liverpool, and 96 died at Hillsborough four years later.

Liverpool won Tuesday night's game 3-0.

cournioni

Well I wouldn't put it past the Millwall fans to stir up that kind of trouble. They've been well known for it in the past. I'm surprised the Liverpool fans reacted to it though.

The Rooster

I was gobsmacked the Liverpool fans reacted too.

Because it was a league cup tie rather than a league game, the away tickets were not restricted to members only, so there were some knackers among the Liverpool contingent.

I would have thought that football fans being what they are, Liverpool would be well used to hearing Hillsboro chants by now. But apparently no, its a very rare thing, and most are saying last night was the first time ever.

Hillsboro was also probably more to the fore of Liverpool fan's mind given the recent writings of that idiot Boris Johnson.

There were also chants about Ken Bigley, with Millwall supporters putting their coats over themselves to hide their heads, and chants about Jamie Bulger.

So all very nasty stuff - but Liverpool fans still should not have reacted, and in doing so gave Millwall exactly what they wanted

uberwolf

from teamtalk:


Paphitis stands up for Lions fans

Chairman Theo Paphitis insists Millwall fans were not to blame for the violence that marred the Carling Cup defeat by Liverpool at The New Den.

The FA have confirmed that they will launch an investigation into the incidents, which began late in the second half as away fans alleged Millwall supporters had made taunts about the Hillsborough disaster in 1989.

But Paphitis rejected such suggestions and claimed Liverpool fans were wholly culpable for the problems that blighted their side's 3-0 victory.

"I am fed up with hearing that the poor old Liverpool fans were provoked into getting onto the pitch and into trying to fight the police, and that it is all Millwall's fault," he said.

"What I did see was Liverpool fans trying to get onto the pitch, and seats were thrown onto the pitch.

"There is no excuse for violence. In my eight years at Millwall, I have made it clear that there is no excuse for violence."

Police were forced to put on riot gear to prevent Liverpool fans in the lower tier of the away end from getting onto the pitch.

Three Liverpool fans and one Millwall supporter were ejected from the ground. About 70 seats were hurled onto the pitch from the away end, while one disabled supporter at the perimeter of the field was injured as fans in the away end surged forward towards the police.

Paphitis claimed that his club were being victimised for misdemeanours in the past.

"It is becoming a comical part of the press," he told Sky Sports News.

"If this happened anywhere else in the country, there would be no reporting at all.

"The vast majority of Liverpool supporters were impeccably behaved and did not deem it necessary to throw chairs or get onto the pitch.

"The police acted incredibly diligently and very well and kept them in the stand."

An FA spokesman added: "We are looking into [these incidents] and we have started an investigation.

"Where there are circumstances of crowd trouble, we always look into it."

p.pete

It was unsettling to see the crowd trouble but hopefully it doesn't develop into too major incident. Hopefully we learn the lesson of not reacting to taunts (no matter how horrible) and move on.

Possibly a slap on the wrist or a fine for Liverpool but hopefully nothing that affects the playing side of things. We definitely don't want to see this kind of thing creeping back into the game....

p.pete

Reading Uberwolf's posts with comments from Paphitis - I have this question: I heard the seats were thrown from the upper tier onto the lower tier, would this not justify people trying to get sanctuary on the pitch?

I presume it was Liverpool fans in the upper tier throwing seats but can anyone clarify that? Also was it Liverpool fans on the lower tier also (throwing seats on themselves)?

cournioni

Has there been any pictures of the violence on Tv?

uberwolf

p.pete wrote:

Possibly a slap on the wrist or a fine for Liverpool.

As a league cup game tickets aren't restricted (this has been pointed out) how can tehy blame LFC when effectively it was open season?

p.pete

uberwolf wrote:

As a league cup game tickets aren't restricted (this has been pointed out) how can tehy blame LFC when effectively it was open season?

Yeah, I understand that - possibly tickets should be restricted? tbh I was just trying to measure my response so I'm not seen as a Liverpool supporter ignoring the incident and saying we shouldn't be held accountable. Maybe we shouldn't be held accountable but I don't think I'm in a position to say that.

I do however feel that the incident shouldn't just be ignored. What the correct response is I'm not sure - maybe sell the tickets alocated to us through our usual chanels and then return the remainder, even at the expense of having very poor away support.

p.pete

PORNAPSTER wrote:

Has there been any pictures of the violence on Tv?

Only a few seconds worth that I've seen. Can't say they were all bedecked it the colour of red but I guess I wasn't looking out for that when I saw the brief clip.

SteM

There were some snippets on TV this morning. I couldn't see who the was causing the trouble whether it was Liverpool or Milwall fans.

Dennis Wise mentioned specifically it was Liverpool fans in his post match interview but then went on to say something like 'but these thing happen in football and you just have to get on with things'.

super_furry

Millwall fans seem to think there was a gang of West Ham supporters in the Liverpool end - clicky .

Anyway, from what I can gather this morning from the posts of people who were at the match, there were two factors in it. The scummy Hillsborough chants, which were clearly audable on television and some Liverpool fan in among the Millwall fans being 'outed' and getting a bit of a kicking.

Funny how Liverpool haven't had any trouble of this kind in the last decade and then go to play Millwall and it all kicks off. My brother in law is a West Ham fan and I went with him to a West Ham v Millwall game at Upton Park last season, where the Millwall fans were sheer scum. Spent the entire time singing about Bobby Moore, throwing anything they could get their hands on at the West Ham fans (including crap) and tried to charge the home supporters on several occasions.

uberwolf

lotta bitterness in those milwall message boards. lol, but no real guide to last nights events that I could see...

growler

another storm in a teacup , the scousers are one of the few teams who're likely to start on about the Munich disaster when playing Man U , so one rule for them and another for everyone else.

Regardless of the provocation if they try and charge the cops / oppo fans they're scumbags imo.

just heard the Millwall lot were also heard to chant "there's only one Boris Johnson" and " Bin Laden is our friend , is our friend X 2 , he killed Bigley"

cerbeus

Letter from a Milwall fan posted on the official Liverpool FC website:

Millwall Fan Letter

sharkman

From SHANKLYGATES.CO.UK

The FA are set to investigate the crowd trouble that marred Liverpool's 3-0 victory over Millwall in the Carling Cup at the New Den last night.


Troubled flared in the second half of the match when Liverpool supporters ripped out 68 seats and appeared to be attempting to move forward.

Afterwards, Liverpool supporters at the match were incensed by the chanting from the home supporters.

'Hillsborough, Hillsborough' to the tune of Liverpool fans' continental style chant was audible on Sky Sports' coverage and other songs included 'you should have died at Hillsborough',' one Boris Johnson' as well as chanting about Iraqi hostage Ken Bigley.

Many Liverpool supporters also allege that racist abuse was directed at Florent Sinama-Pongolloe, Salif Diao and Djimi Traore from the home section.

Small time club, small time players, small time attitude.

Phil Hammond, chairman of the Hillsborough Family Support Group said today: "I'm not surprised to hear the Millwall fans were doing that, I wouldn't expect anything else from the likes of them. But they aren't the only ones to do it."

"My son has been to Old Trafford and seen Manchester United fans press their hands against their faces, to pretend they are being crushed. It is sickening to use something which took 96 lives as a way of winding people up


Also see letters on Football365

mike65

cerbeus wrote:

Letter from a Milwall fan posted on the official Liverpool FC website:

Millwall Fan Letter

Good to read that. So many of them are total ****s though. You'd think someone at the club would have taken the issue of thier "fans" more seriously. They need mass psychoanalysis.

Mike.

KdjaCL

PORNAPSTER wrote:

Has there been any pictures of the violence on Tv?

No and wont ever be , English media has a blanket ban on showing violence at games. It does still happen and is just as bad as ever but no media coverage ensures Skys premier league looks great.


kdjac

uberwolf

KdjaC wrote:

No and wont ever be , English media has a blanket ban on showing violence at games. It does still happen and is just as bad as ever but no media coverage ensures Skys premier league looks great.


kdjac

The Muppet

Millwall fans disgrace themselves yet again but they are not all the same as is evident by the fans letter if genuine. Hopefully he is right that the mindless ones are getting fewer as the years progress.

Football is only a game, ok its one us fans can get pretty heated about from time to time but those chants are sick and take rivalry too far . Those found guilty of such should be banned for life from every football ground.

cournioni

I know a Millwall fan quite well and he says some of the stuff that goes on in the New Den is unbelievable, although it has changed alot in recent years and is not as bad as it was but he says that it is only a minority that start the trouble.

Liverpool fans should not have reacted like that though. I'm still quite surprised that they did as I'm sure they have experienced it before and ignored it.

bucks73

There was a programme on Millwall fans over a year ago on Tv and it showed just how bad they are. Cant remember the name of it but I think it was on BBC.

Sky News showed very short clips of the trouble at Millwall and also from Chelsea last night where the West Ham fans supposedly caused trouble as well as one of them catching Kezman with a coin.

Kezmans response was "thats football".

RE*AC*TOR

bucks73 wrote:

<snip>...catching Kezman with a coin.

Kezmans response was "thats football".

His sense of depth and proportion must have been gone, I suppose a disc looks like a sphere in that case. :cool:

Big Ears

bucks73 wrote:

Kezmans response was "thats football".

remeber he spent a lot of time in the Dutch league , im sure he's well used to stuff like that .

cournioni

Well he played for PSV so I'm sure he wasn't on the receiving end of it as much. Bunch of knackers those PSV supporters are, again, the minority of their supporters.

Villain

bucks73 wrote:

There was a programme on Millwall fans over a year ago on Tv and it showed just how bad they are. Cant remember the name of it but I think it was on BBC.

I have to say I was at the New Den last year and it was nothing like what I expected, I was among the season ticket holders bshind the east goal and it was full of family's, I'm sure there are some bag eggs probably more than other clubs, but there are a lot more Milwall fans that are very polite people.

therecklessone

irish1 wrote:

I have to say I was at the New Den last year and it was nothing like what I expected, I was among the season ticket holders bshind the east goal and it was full of family's, I'm sure there are some bag eggs probably more than other clubs, but there are a lot more Milwall fans that are very polite people.

Somebody told me in work that things had been getting better at the New Den, it was moving towards a family-friendly atmosphere and all. Then nobody turned up for their UEFA Cup match, and all the gougers were allowed back in. Don't know how true this is.

RE*AC*TOR

therecklessone wrote:

Somebody told me in work that things had been getting better at the New Den, it was moving towards a family-friendly atmosphere and all. Then nobody turned up for their UEFA Cup match, and all the gougers were allowed back in. Don't know how true this is.

The sad thing is they have this huge reputation, and anytime someone wants to come along and cause some trouble, they can just go along to a millwall match. Its a kind of self-perpetuating reputation.

yop

Would be very suprised if this was started by scouse fans. The number of derbys a year involving Pool and Man United, Everton etc and there is no reported violence and then when Millwall arrive and there is then it should not take a brain surgeon to figure out who may have started this

BKtje

Bunch of knackers those PSV supporters are,

Mate of mine in eindhoven's a PSV fan and the things i hear him go on about is unreal.