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Post by The Quito Diet on Jul 12, 2021 20:51:13 GMT
Disagree. He's not saying it as if Oh they're not proper England fans, to me he's saying if you hold those views then this team isn't for you. Two very different things. There is a huge element within the England supporters base that needs challenging for their behaviours - but I can guarantee the majority of the abuse and racism came from people who were nowhere near the ground last night. How can you guarantee that? This is the sort of bullshit that needs to be called out. Thousands of people at England games have been booing players taking the knee over the last month and you're still in denial? To a man, everybody around me was clapping the knee. And clapping the Italian anthem. There was so little animosity or anger inside the stadium yesterday, a huge contrast to outside. The racist abuse the players get originates from overseas in 95% of cases, just as it does when clubs celebrate rainbow laces.
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Post by The Quito Diet on Jul 12, 2021 21:24:26 GMT
Honestly though this shitshow was obvious from early on. We got the tube past Wembley Park and at 11am it was rammed with people drinking and chanting, all good natured at that point.
When we got back to Wembley at 5 the station was rammed with drunks steaming back onto trains to head back to watch the game. The staircase was dangerous and Wembley Way looked impassable with beer bottles and cans flying everywhere. We took a long walk down the high street instead, past loads of blokes pissing up doorways, and various dickheads trying to wind up passing cars and pedestrians. Said before it was mostly those with Manc accents but it was everyone, saw flags and tattoos of all teams.
The covid tear check and ticket check for us was fine, and then they activated our tickets. They were also turning people away regularly. Can't lie for all the crowds, at that stage I felt it was being managed quite well and once we were inside that boundary I thought nothing of it. We went over to grab a few shots of Wembley Way, heard the stadium had been put on lockdown and then saw on Twitter the stairs we'd just gone up had been charged.
Queued at our gate, had blokes surrounding us trying to sneak their way in by tailgating turnstiles (I do not know how, they're tiny, but it happened), get turned away and try again. Should note at this stage I had only seen a handful of police, who were inside a riot van that was being taunted by some chavs on bikes. The only security inside the ground perimeter was stewards and volunteers.
Bag check was non-existent, x-ray scanners going off but nobody actually checking anything. That was actually my biggest worry at that point, could have snuck anything in.
The supposed spare seats either side of us were filled up by a drunk Evertonian and his mate who kept spitting his food all over us but was pleasant enough. Then when he got told to move by a steward he kicked off. Saw several people dragged out too. National anthem was widely applauded after initial boos. As was the knee.
I'll spare thoughts on the game until I've rewatched it properly but my ankle is fucked from falling down a row when a drunk fell on me as Shaw scored.
After the game we hung around to watch the trophy presentation, clap England and avoid the crush. The walk down Wembley Way was horrible, broken glass everywhere, people getting restless and arguing, bloke right behind me took a bottle to the head that cut him up, and just before we got to the station there were several different groups charging and smashing things up. Heard rumours of stabbings/assaults but that may be linked to stuff I've seen with the likes of Lando Norris being mugged in the car park next to the stadium. Nobody bothering with masks either.
Weird one - I feel rather lucky to have avoided all of the worst of it and am only really a bit sore from the goal celebrations and singing. But also a bit shook up seeing and hearing what went on and realising we were nearly in the middle of it.
Still, at least I didn't stick a flare up my arse.
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notpropaganda
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Post by notpropaganda on Jul 12, 2021 22:01:56 GMT
How can you guarantee that? This is the sort of bullshit that needs to be called out. Thousands of people at England games have been booing players taking the knee over the last month and you're still in denial? To a man, everybody around me was clapping the knee. And clapping the Italian anthem. There was so little animosity or anger inside the stadium yesterday, a huge contrast to outside. The racist abuse the players get originates from overseas in 95% of cases, just as it does when clubs celebrate rainbow laces. I'm glad that was your experience but the entire piece in the Independent from Miguel Delaney is based on his experience, other journalists' experience within the ground and the fans that spoke to the Independent that were in the ground as well. Fans left early because of what other England fans were getting up to *within the ground*.
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Post by The Quito Diet on Jul 12, 2021 22:20:39 GMT
To a man, everybody around me was clapping the knee. And clapping the Italian anthem. There was so little animosity or anger inside the stadium yesterday, a huge contrast to outside. The racist abuse the players get originates from overseas in 95% of cases, just as it does when clubs celebrate rainbow laces. I'm glad that was your experience but the entire piece in the Independent from Miguel Delaney is based on his experience, other journalists' experience within the ground and the fans that spoke to the Independent that were in the ground as well. Fans left early because of what other England fans were getting up to *within the ground*. I've seen that piece and it's weird because other than that article, I've genuinely not seen any reports or racist/homophobic chanting inside the ground from anyone else inside the ground. I've also not seen other journalists comment on it (I'd like to), but it would potentially make sense given where he was sat is close to the block where the disabled entrance was booted in I think and I recall hearing about how the disabled section (in front of the press area) was rammed with fans without tickets - so if it's happened in that section it's no surprise he has loads of reports of it but fans sitting elsewhere heard nothing.
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notpropaganda
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Post by notpropaganda on Jul 12, 2021 22:25:17 GMT
I listened to a pod with him on it earlier and Jonathan Wilson basically agreed with everything he had said but just qualified it by saying that things could have actually ended up an awful lot worse. Jack Pitt Brooke agreed with the two of them as well. Might be as you say that part of the stadium was where the problems were, I don't really know Wembley I've only been once.
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Post by The Quito Diet on Jul 14, 2021 18:39:15 GMT
The absolute fucking gall of the Met to claim there was no policing failure on Sunday and the breaches were the responsibility of the stadium beggars belief.
People were openly pissed on Wembley Way (which is not stadium land iirc) from 10am, openly doing drugs, openly launching bottles and openly pissing up walls.
But they want to claim without their intervention the game wouldn't have gone ahead?!
If those scenes took place at Notting Hill carnival, you reckon the Met would have let it happen for 12 hours?
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