Thursday, October 05, 2006
Sicilian Beat Up
Sam Delaney is a West Ham fan who went to the 2nd leg in Palermo and his article in the online mag "The First Post" suggests the media reports of drunken English hooligans is not how it happened...
The Guardian Newspaper in particular can fuck right off when it says stuff like this
The next day a letter to The Fiver countered "Your report of West Ham's fans in Palermo was a disgrace. I was in that square throughout and we were not at fault in any way. Trapped by those animals, we just defended ourselves and waited for the police to step in. Instead, they just watched while we were bombarded by anything that came to hand, and only attacked us when we were getting the upper hand" - Michael Davies.
The Guardian Newspaper in particular can fuck right off when it says stuff like this
"The Fiver's always had a soft spot for the way West Ham play, and we admire
what Alan Pardew has done at Upton Park too. But almost everything else about
the club leaves us colder than a brass monkey in the Siberian Streaking
Championships. There's chairman Terence Brown; the blingtastic players, many of
whom strut around giving it the big 'I am' despite having won nothing except a
Division One play-off; the seedy, slightly menacing atmosphere outside the
ground; and - worst of all - the club's fans.
When those supporters
aren't banging on about the Hammers winning the 1966 World Cup single-handedly,
they're usually shrieking away in ridiculous faux-Cockney accents, even though
most of them live in detached Mock Tudor houses in Essex. (In fact the Fiver
half-suspects that Hammers fans are to blame for Dick Van Dyke's disastrous
accent in Mary Poppins.) The club has always had an 'element' too - which
resurfaced again last night when 20 fans were arrested and another six injured
after "a huge battle" with Palermo fans and police last night.
Palermo
police spokesman Virgilio Alberelli said 500 people were involved in the riot,
17 of whom, including five police officers, were taken to hospital. According to
one eyewitness: "West Ham fans behaved like animals, roaming the streets,
bottles in hand searching for anyone to fight." After an hour, police finally
managed to calm the situation and Hammers fans were put on three buses and
driven away from the centre. "
The next day a letter to The Fiver countered "Your report of West Ham's fans in Palermo was a disgrace. I was in that square throughout and we were not at fault in any way. Trapped by those animals, we just defended ourselves and waited for the police to step in. Instead, they just watched while we were bombarded by anything that came to hand, and only attacked us when we were getting the upper hand" - Michael Davies.
Posted by norven munky at 1:27 pm
said...
From the Football365.com letters page.
And Finally, A Rather Lengthy Bit Of Advice About Palermo
I'd just like to warn Newcastle fans of the reception they may get in Palermo on the 2nd November.
My wife and I have made three visits to Palermo in the last two years. We are learning Italian at night school and it is a perfect place to go to practice talking, as unlike most other large cities/tourist resorts in Italy people don't automatically start talking English to you. It is also a fascinating place to visit historically, with great food. I follow how their football team do in Serie A and am delighted they're doing so well this year, as well as feeling sympathy for the Hammers who I think got the worst possible draw in the UEFA Cup.
Now the good bit's out of the way, let me tell you about the downsides.
Although Palermo isn't the most welcoming place one could visit despite its attractions, I wasn't expecting the trouble I saw last Wednesday and Thursday night. Palermo isn't the kind of place where one can sit in a bar and get nicely p**sed on a matchday before the game. There are no pubs and few bars in the centre which cater to 'drinkers'. It's a city where you sit down to eat a good meal and have a glass of wine to drink with it.
I have never seen a local either drinking on the street or drunk on the street. It's alien to them. Arriving from the Aeolian islands on Thursday lunchtime, I wasn't surprised to see many West Ham fans collected around the few bars there are. While none of them appeared at all drunk at that time, there had been quite a bit of trouble the night before, and the carabinieri and fans were eyeing each other up menacingly. This is in contrast to the cordial atmosphere I am told by people I trust that there was around Upton Park at the first leg. Apparently Hammers fans and Palermo tifosi mingled in the pubs and all was friendly.
Palermo is a city with a relatively large historic centre where most visiting fans would congregate, the stadium being some way out of town. Most of the historic centre is 400 years old, and most of the buildings are held up by scaffolding. Some of them haven't any roofs, the city not having been fully rebuilt since the Allied bombing raids of 1943. There is a rumoured 30% unemployment rate in the city.
Whilst being perfectly nice to me and my wife, who talk fair-to-middling Italian, there seemed to be a siege mentality in the behaviour of most of the Palermitans we spoke to. Whether this was instilled in them by the press and the police or both, I've no idea. I tried twice to buy tickets for the Palermo areas of the ground [as I knew that if we sat in the WH end we would be kept in for hours afterwards] and was refused [politely] because I was English. I saw Hammers refused service in restaurants for no reason.
The centre is largely made up of dark, menacing-and-decrepit-looking alleys. I am told that West Ham fans had roof tiles thrown down on their heads after having been chased into an alley one night last week, and given the amount of people with head bandages I saw in the departure lounge at the airport on Friday night I can believe that they didn't all get hurt by falling over p***ed.
Before the match the carabinieri stopped some fans I spoke to WHO HAD TICKETS from entering the stadium [the road to the stadium was closed before the match], so those fans who had spent £300 for their flight, stayed in a hotel for two nights and blown cash on beer and food and took three days off work weren't even able to see the game. I am told as well that although the carabinieri weren't overly violent, they made no attempt whatever to either protect West Ham fans or to arrest the italian troublemakers throwing bricks or rocks and carrying knives.
I would say that whilst accepting ALL of the trouble probably wasn't 100% down to the Palermo fans/yobs, and that it's feasible the locals may view Geordies in some way different to the Hammers [though I doubt it] that it is unlikely either the local populace or the Palermo fans will roll out the red carpet for Magpies fans on the 2nd November. You might like to think hard about whether the long trip is worth it.
I have no wish to upset either West Ham or Palermo fans by writing this piece, that certainly isn't my aim. I feel I owe it to my fellow football fans to warn them not to waste their hard-earned money or get hurt.
Paul Venables
whubris said...
Interesting posts guys. Dave, I won't be spurning the Guardian just yet, where else will I turn for a quick article when I'm feeling lazy? ;-)
Tomorrow's gonna be fuckin massive.
norven munky said...
Did Dave ask you to spurn the Guardian?
I ranted at them in the original article..
beggers said...
Typical media beat up about English football teams in Europe. Soon as there's any trouble it has to be our fault! Bollocks! Even during the WC, German fans were involved in 3 scuffles that made the news and the Engish fans one. But what did you here most about? Anyway, saw the incident in question on the news, a few plastic chairs being thrown around, big deal, seen worse trouble at Fishermans wharf at the Sunday Session.
Have a good one tomorrow lads. Unfortunately we won't be there, dragged the chain too long and missed out. Bugger!
Dave said...
I had a go at the Guardian via email when Omar originally emailed out that second article that you posted on here munkey.
...Post a Comment ... Go to Forum
said...From the Football365.com letters page.
And Finally, A Rather Lengthy Bit Of Advice About Palermo
I'd just like to warn Newcastle fans of the reception they may get in Palermo on the 2nd November.
My wife and I have made three visits to Palermo in the last two years. We are learning Italian at night school and it is a perfect place to go to practice talking, as unlike most other large cities/tourist resorts in Italy people don't automatically start talking English to you. It is also a fascinating place to visit historically, with great food. I follow how their football team do in Serie A and am delighted they're doing so well this year, as well as feeling sympathy for the Hammers who I think got the worst possible draw in the UEFA Cup.
Now the good bit's out of the way, let me tell you about the downsides.
Although Palermo isn't the most welcoming place one could visit despite its attractions, I wasn't expecting the trouble I saw last Wednesday and Thursday night. Palermo isn't the kind of place where one can sit in a bar and get nicely p**sed on a matchday before the game. There are no pubs and few bars in the centre which cater to 'drinkers'. It's a city where you sit down to eat a good meal and have a glass of wine to drink with it.
I have never seen a local either drinking on the street or drunk on the street. It's alien to them. Arriving from the Aeolian islands on Thursday lunchtime, I wasn't surprised to see many West Ham fans collected around the few bars there are. While none of them appeared at all drunk at that time, there had been quite a bit of trouble the night before, and the carabinieri and fans were eyeing each other up menacingly. This is in contrast to the cordial atmosphere I am told by people I trust that there was around Upton Park at the first leg. Apparently Hammers fans and Palermo tifosi mingled in the pubs and all was friendly.
Palermo is a city with a relatively large historic centre where most visiting fans would congregate, the stadium being some way out of town. Most of the historic centre is 400 years old, and most of the buildings are held up by scaffolding. Some of them haven't any roofs, the city not having been fully rebuilt since the Allied bombing raids of 1943. There is a rumoured 30% unemployment rate in the city.
Whilst being perfectly nice to me and my wife, who talk fair-to-middling Italian, there seemed to be a siege mentality in the behaviour of most of the Palermitans we spoke to. Whether this was instilled in them by the press and the police or both, I've no idea. I tried twice to buy tickets for the Palermo areas of the ground [as I knew that if we sat in the WH end we would be kept in for hours afterwards] and was refused [politely] because I was English. I saw Hammers refused service in restaurants for no reason.
The centre is largely made up of dark, menacing-and-decrepit-looking alleys. I am told that West Ham fans had roof tiles thrown down on their heads after having been chased into an alley one night last week, and given the amount of people with head bandages I saw in the departure lounge at the airport on Friday night I can believe that they didn't all get hurt by falling over p***ed.
Before the match the carabinieri stopped some fans I spoke to WHO HAD TICKETS from entering the stadium [the road to the stadium was closed before the match], so those fans who had spent £300 for their flight, stayed in a hotel for two nights and blown cash on beer and food and took three days off work weren't even able to see the game. I am told as well that although the carabinieri weren't overly violent, they made no attempt whatever to either protect West Ham fans or to arrest the italian troublemakers throwing bricks or rocks and carrying knives.
I would say that whilst accepting ALL of the trouble probably wasn't 100% down to the Palermo fans/yobs, and that it's feasible the locals may view Geordies in some way different to the Hammers [though I doubt it] that it is unlikely either the local populace or the Palermo fans will roll out the red carpet for Magpies fans on the 2nd November. You might like to think hard about whether the long trip is worth it.
I have no wish to upset either West Ham or Palermo fans by writing this piece, that certainly isn't my aim. I feel I owe it to my fellow football fans to warn them not to waste their hard-earned money or get hurt.
Paul Venables
whubris said...Interesting posts guys. Dave, I won't be spurning the Guardian just yet, where else will I turn for a quick article when I'm feeling lazy? ;-)
Tomorrow's gonna be fuckin massive.
norven munky said...Did Dave ask you to spurn the Guardian?
I ranted at them in the original article..
beggers said...Typical media beat up about English football teams in Europe. Soon as there's any trouble it has to be our fault! Bollocks! Even during the WC, German fans were involved in 3 scuffles that made the news and the Engish fans one. But what did you here most about? Anyway, saw the incident in question on the news, a few plastic chairs being thrown around, big deal, seen worse trouble at Fishermans wharf at the Sunday Session.
Have a good one tomorrow lads. Unfortunately we won't be there, dragged the chain too long and missed out. Bugger!
Dave said...I had a go at the Guardian via email when Omar originally emailed out that second article that you posted on here munkey.
