Some look on 'bunking in as badge of honour', says GaillardJun 27 2007
by Nick Smith, Liverpool Daily Post
WILLIAM GAILLARD last night risked re-igniting Liverpool’s row with UEFA by claiming supporters see getting in to grounds without tickets as “a badge of honour.”
UEFA’s director of communications insisted it was difficult to stamp out the problem encountered at the Champions League final in Athens five weeks ago, even though the European governing body has announced a series of new security measures.
UEFA’s plans came in light of a Home Office review that included recommendations to develop training for stadium safety officers, stewards and police across Europe.
It follows problems involving Manchester United fans in Lens and Rome, Tottenham supporters in Seville and Liverpool fans in Athens with the Home Office saying there should be more emphasis on steward-ing rather than using riot police.
Gaillard admitted that only a small minority of fans were responsible on May 23, but feels the determination of some Liverpool supporters would make the extra measures difficult to enforce.
He said: “If you go to the football supporters’ organisation’s website, you will see it’s quite interesting the testimony of the Liverpool fans who were in Athens and many experienced problems. They said there is a small group of people that, and they put it this way, make it a badge of honour to get into stadiums without paying.
“That’s also a case in some English stadiums and supporters themselves are saying that.
“The problem, I think, is very much a marginal one in England, but away we have problems.
“We have drinking problems, which is more prevalent in Northern Europe. All these factors make it difficult to have a pan-European policy, but this is what we are working on.”
Gaillard infuriated Liverpool with his initial analysis of the chaos at the ticket gate in the Athens Olympic Stadium that pointed the finger firmly at the behaviour of supporters – the club claim this was caused by an inadequate ticket allocation of 17,000.
Gaillard did concede, however, that incidents during the 1980s that led to the banning of English clubs from European competition might have rebounded on supporters of Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham in the way they were dealt with by the police last season.
He added: “I understand the feelings of English fans and it’s true that sometimes they are probably unfairly targeted because of the past and because of lingering memories of what happened in the 1980s.
“It is also true that such patterns of behaviour of English fans abroad cause problems that are different from the problems caused by foreign fans.”
Galliard also highlighted problems in other areas of Europe which were linked to darker forces than the drinking synonymous with English supporters abroad.
He added: “Drinking, for example, is often absent in southern Europe. In southern Europe, you have another type of violence, linked often to extremist political movements or racist groups, which are really serious problems.
“But some southern European police forces are just not used to fans that have been drinking a bit too much. It’s a different way to celebrate, if you like.”
by Nick Smith, Liverpool Daily Post
WILLIAM GAILLARD last night risked re-igniting Liverpool’s row with UEFA by claiming supporters see getting in to grounds without tickets as “a badge of honour.”
UEFA’s director of communications insisted it was difficult to stamp out the problem encountered at the Champions League final in Athens five weeks ago, even though the European governing body has announced a series of new security measures.
UEFA’s plans came in light of a Home Office review that included recommendations to develop training for stadium safety officers, stewards and police across Europe.
It follows problems involving Manchester United fans in Lens and Rome, Tottenham supporters in Seville and Liverpool fans in Athens with the Home Office saying there should be more emphasis on steward-ing rather than using riot police.
Gaillard admitted that only a small minority of fans were responsible on May 23, but feels the determination of some Liverpool supporters would make the extra measures difficult to enforce.
He said: “If you go to the football supporters’ organisation’s website, you will see it’s quite interesting the testimony of the Liverpool fans who were in Athens and many experienced problems. They said there is a small group of people that, and they put it this way, make it a badge of honour to get into stadiums without paying.
“That’s also a case in some English stadiums and supporters themselves are saying that.
“The problem, I think, is very much a marginal one in England, but away we have problems.
“We have drinking problems, which is more prevalent in Northern Europe. All these factors make it difficult to have a pan-European policy, but this is what we are working on.”
Gaillard infuriated Liverpool with his initial analysis of the chaos at the ticket gate in the Athens Olympic Stadium that pointed the finger firmly at the behaviour of supporters – the club claim this was caused by an inadequate ticket allocation of 17,000.
Gaillard did concede, however, that incidents during the 1980s that led to the banning of English clubs from European competition might have rebounded on supporters of Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham in the way they were dealt with by the police last season.
He added: “I understand the feelings of English fans and it’s true that sometimes they are probably unfairly targeted because of the past and because of lingering memories of what happened in the 1980s.
“It is also true that such patterns of behaviour of English fans abroad cause problems that are different from the problems caused by foreign fans.”
Galliard also highlighted problems in other areas of Europe which were linked to darker forces than the drinking synonymous with English supporters abroad.
He added: “Drinking, for example, is often absent in southern Europe. In southern Europe, you have another type of violence, linked often to extremist political movements or racist groups, which are really serious problems.
“But some southern European police forces are just not used to fans that have been drinking a bit too much. It’s a different way to celebrate, if you like.”
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