Football Policing - One Rule For One....

We've all seen it repeated on Sky Sports News over the weekend, amidst the shots of Berbatov jogging about in training, or embarrassing images of Man City fans with tea towels round their heads, held together with black tape. I'm on about the image of Newcastle Chairman, Mike Ashley, standing at the back of the away end and knocking back a rather freshing looking pint of lager in the manner of which Paul Gascoigne would be proud.

As much of an idiot I think he his, "King Kev" on the back of his replica and other such nonsense, there is something pleasing about a man in such a position as he, preferring to stand with the away support than sit in a box, and drink pints of lager rather than sip champagne with the know nothing hangers on in the posh seats. Yet does his status as a football chairman make him different to the rest of us when it comes to obeying the laws of the land?

This weekend, numerous fans up and down the country will have been arrested in football grounds for drinking alcohol in view of the playing field. Fans are arrested week in, week out, for drinking alcohol while watching the game. For some reason, it's illegal for football fans to do so, but not so for rugby fans, or fans of any other sport for that matter. But the law is the law, and while I don't agree with it, I'd like to think it was being enforced consistently.

I know of one fan that was arrested for drinking alcohol in view of the playing field, as mentioned in a previous blog, and ended up with a 3 year ball and chain around his ankle, banning him from all football grounds in England and Wales for three years. Having to surrender his passport to the local police station and sign in, every time his club side played away from home in Europe, or every time the England side went on their travels. 3 years of inconvenience on top of the restriction of going to the game, not being allowed in the city centre 4 hours before or 4 hours after a home game.

There is another Liverpool fan I know of that has been arrested this weekend for drinking during the game. He is due in court next Monday to answer his charge, and faces the same 3 year banning order that are being handed out like flyers for a strip club at the minute. So can you imagine how he feels this afternoon watching Sky Sports News, and hearing that Mike Ashley has been warned for his drinking, but will face no further charges?

The law is the law, and if it is going to be enforced on the apparent "dregs of society" that us mere football fans seem to be treated as, then it should also be enforced on others, no matter who they are. Mike Ashley has to conform to the same laws of the land as you and me. Or does he?

He has released a statement this afternoon, that he was told the drink was non-alcoholic when being passed to him by a friend. Now can you imagine a regular football fan using that excuse when turning up in court to answer their case? They'd be laughed out of court and be handed a 3 year banning order before Ashley could finish his pint of Kaliber.

Mike Ashley didn't even have to attend court to make his excuses. It will have been emails or a phone call from "his people". If the police had any balls whatsoever, they would have arrested Ashley and had him up in court next week, as they would do with your average football fan. But would that have put the cat among the pigeons with regard to the farcical law that it is? Why highlight another discriminative law against football fans, when you can just sweep it under the carpet?

I wonder if he's been warned about persistently standing in seated areas as well? He stands for 90 minutes at every away game with the rest of his support. Nothing wrong with that in my eyes, and it's brilliant to see him doing so. But while many other fans are having videos taken of them standing and being threatened with losing their season tickets over their behaviour, Ashley seems to be immune to ground regulations.

Or is it all because Ashley is not thought of as a sub-human hooligan, and is therefore treated differently? It's just a shame that the authorities seem to class every other person that follows a football team as just that, with reasoning or without. We're all labeled in that way and treated as such, isn't it about time things started to change?

Mike Ashley; if you really do care about your fellow fans, why not step onto the stage and speak out about how farcical these discriminative footballing laws are, and try to make a real difference?

I won't hold my breath.

Paul Jones

Comments

[m wilson.]

Where do they get the money to watch football?

[Ashley]

At least the Arabs won't be drinking beer in the stand!

[Ste]

Fat beer-swilling Ashley and the fat beer-swilling Newcastle fans were made for each other. Add in the barmy Keegan and its near to perfection. All thats needed now is for whining backstabber Shearer to get involved - perhaps as Keegans assistant. Relegation must be on the cards - perfect!

[Mark]

Do you have proof of what Ashley was drinking?

There are those who can afford a lawyer and those who can't. Lawyers ensure that loop-holes and technicalities are exploited.

Anyway, to balance the karma I very much doubt Ashley would be welcome within 100m of any Newcastle fan from now on.

[Toon fan]

I would gladly pay for 10 pints for Ashley if he promises to drink them in the stand, or even on the pitch - then I'll be really pleased when the police to give him a three year ban from Newcastle.

[tim]

why is mike ashley being made a villain here? keegan is a waste of space, hes lost the plot. hes so emitional he should be in a tv soap. hes lost so many games and blames the club for not giving him money... theres a credit crunch! and people like mike ashley didnt get rich by signing cheques to whoever comes along with a smile on their face. he is a billionaire on paper but actually might be short on cash. his business is worth a lot of money but that doesnt mean he has hundreds of millions to spend every summer. keegan knew this before he got the job. fact is keegan doesnt have a clue he looks so lost he is way out of his depth. newcastle fans need to wake up and realize they wont get anywhere with keegan. he is nothing like his former self.

[John williams]

To be fair, if your football team was losing 3-0, you would break the law and have a cheeky pint.

Back to the point.. if he was to get a 3 year ban, think of the affect this would have on the premier league?

Although i strongly agree on Ashley being charged or in that case, have some sort of punishment for his stupid behaviour at arsenal.

However believe its probably best for english football that the authorities "let this one slip" and take no futher action.

[Malcolm]

Ashley is a money grabber and does not apreciate the type of supporters in the north-east. Kevin got the job but has not been allowed to act as a manager.
I hope the fans support Kev he is great, good luck Kevin

Malcolm (Sunderland)

[D S Gusted]

Don't worry i dont think he'll be standing with the fans at the next match - they would lynch him now

[Blackley Blue]

"Embarrasing" images of city fans dressed like shieks? so we should instead all be suited and scoffing on prawn butties i presume. Take a look at yourselves and stop taking everything so seriously.

[Sonny B]

Shurely for any action to be taken against anyone-charver to chairman, the exact nature of the drink being drunk has to be proven otherwise we are just saying "well it must have been alcoholic mustn't it?" Isn't this the excuse that has been used by various slob celebs when pictured with piles of white powder? You can't prove what's in a picture without supporting evidence.

[fraser]

seriously? how much trouble can he really cause? its not like he's going to get hammered and start some bother is it? he cant exactly slink away un-noticed, what with being the owner of the club and a massive fat bloke. i think the police are right to use discretion.

i didnt realise three year bans were dished out though. thats ridiculously harsh...

[martin bradley]

i am a long time season ticket holder at newcastle united, the next home game i am going to take a pint of non alcholic beer into the stand and drink it in front of the police.Lets seen what the reaction is.Am i breaking the law.

[Neil]

You quite simply can't have one rule for one and another for others. Mike Ashley should be arrested and charged with consuming alcohol in sight of a football pitch - what else can the authorities do without it being deemed unfair?

[Paul]

Absolutely spot on, really.

The sheer double standards in this disgusts me, but hopefully it will bring some attention onto how farcical some of these laws really are - and how the police get away with actions that would cause an outcry if it wasn't just football fans.

Unfortunately, I think we'll be seeing Accrington Stanley qualify for Europe first.

[A match goer]

Talk about abuse of powers, the list for football banning orders are covering virtually every aspect of the match day 'experience'. Surely there's a human rights issue as well as a discrimination factor in the treatment of football fans compared to alternative sports. Fans who have followed a club for decades without incidence are banned on a whim by courts who have no idea of the all consuming passion of following a team. This passion is misconstrewed by courts who have no idea of the impact that taking away this ritual can have. No other section of society has as few rights as your average football fan, and increasingly going the match is a risky proposition not from hooigans but from police.

[John Murphy.]

wine for my men, we drive at dawn, good read that paul