You Know What Makes Me Boil?
Not the defeat mind, I took it pretty well.
It's the attitude of UEFA and their corporate bigwigs. Of a 60,000 fully seated stadium, both teams were only given a meagre 17,000 tickets each and I didn't even bother to write a post on how absurd and ridiculous it is to give the rest to some guy in suit and tie who has never ever seen a football match.
Then they came out blasting our fans for all the troubles. Seriously, why do we have to carry all the blame and sh*t when things go wrong. Is it because of our troubled past (Hillsbrough, Heysel)? And why is 'Britain' the only problem?
Mind you, I'm not a British national, I'm an Asian. But I can't help but feel English football is being isolated and battered by UEFA.
UEFA's head of communications William Gaillard has blamed the behaviour of Liverpool fans for ticketing and disorder problems in the Champions League final against AC Milan.
"It was a suitable venue. It is the stadium where the 2004 European Championships were held and where all the games of the (Greek) national team are held.
"Unfortunately in Britain it is the behaviour. Liverpool fans are responsible for the problems before, during and after the game.
"(They were) trying to go over the barriers to get into the stadium without tickets, which is not the behaviour we can condone. It is very easy to say 'this is not a football stadium'.
"Milan supporters didn't face the same problems because they didn't behave the same way."
The ever-blameless UEFA absolving any faults and blames placed on them made the fans the scapegoat. Seriously, how could you blame fans who are desperately trying to witness their team's road to glory and who are you to deny them the right?
Sometimes, I feel that English football is constantly on a different wavelength with the rest of Europe. Just look at the refereeing decisions and you could jolly well work out why. What is permissible in England is not necessarily so in Europe.
Peter Crouch is never allowed to jump while shoulder charge or any little touches leads to foul and warnings. I don't even want to go in about how the game ended perhaps a minute earlier.
I do not condone violence on and off the pitch, that I'll have to make myself clear. But why push all the blames to the poor fans?
I feel the unjust. As long as those people are at the top level, English football will always be marginalised. Period.
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3 comments:
While I don't agree with UEFA actually making public comment on the fans behaviour it's hard to make the point that all Liverpool fans have a "right" to see their teams chance at glory.
You can argue till you are blue in the face about tickets going to those who deserve it, but like many Finals throughout the world (including my own AFL), the Final seems destined to be a Corporate event.
And to excuse rowdy behaviour when you don't have a ticket simply because you want to see your team play doesn't wash with me.
But yes, UEFA should've never ever made public comment on such events. It will only create more angst in the future.
Well that was written at a heat of the moment so maybe I'm a little harsh there. We have to admit every clubs have their black sheeps and Liverpool fans aren't spared and all blameless.
But reading the first letter here makes me feel really terrible for the fans who made the effort there only to be treated like a pile of sh*te.
http://www.football365.com/mailbox/story/0,17033,8744_2146369,00.html
Here.
If you do not have a ticket, don't go. Simple as that. Although, yes assigning only 17,000 seats each side is a moronic decision given the capacity of the stadium, the fact still stands that you'll need a ticket to enter; and you're not going to enter by barging in.
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