Bristol Rovers trouble at Vale Park

[valefan16]

No one could be arsed with a match day thread so thought id pop this in here as a developing story.

Trouble broke out numerous times in the away end at Vale Park between Rovers fans, themselves, the police and stewards resulting in multiple ejections, a couple of arrests and injuries.

Bristol Rovers were allocated a section away from the home end side of the stand but seemed to decide this wasn't adequate and trying to get over the nets fighting broke out, including alleged pepper spray use and heavy handed reactions.

Bristol Rovers chairman has tried to blame over crowding in the section for the trouble... unless Rovers fans held a fancy dress as a seat this clearly wasn't the case with swathes of empty seats in the section.

Interesting story on this with the Rovers chairman blaming Vale, Police saying they acted to break up the trouble quickly etc. No one else has had any issue with sitting that side of the Hamil and interestingly the Rovers fans in the Vale social seemed a decent bunch.

Below is the massively overcrowded section the Rovers Chairman is on about....

 

[IanPVFC]

According to the Rovers forum, we're on a tax swindle as obviously there were well over 1000 there...

 

[07.05.16]

The chairman hasn't blamed Vale... He's asked to know for sure who is responsible, before banning fans willy-nilly.
http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/bristo...t-vale-brawl/story-30148893-detail/story.html

 

[valefan16]

According to the Rovers forum, we're on a tax swindle as obviously there were well over 1000 there...

No chance... attendance is about right... unless Firthy has switched teams!

 

[valefan16]

The chairman hasn't blamed Vale... He's asked to know for sure who is responsible, before banning fans willy-nilly.
http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/bristo...t-vale-brawl/story-30148893-detail/story.html

To be fair it was the Rovers fans blaming it

"
Scuffles between supporters, stewards and police took place in the away end during the second-half of a match that ended 1-1 at Vale Park after supporters complained of overcrowding in the segregated area of the Signal 1 stand that housed the travelling contingent.
Read more at http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/bristo...0148893-detail/story.html#88qfdggVCTwYfAdZ.99

 

[JJH]

According to the Rovers forum, we're on a tax swindle as obviously there were well over 1000 there...

There always are mate, thousands locked outside every week.

 

[07.05.16]

There always are mate, thousands locked outside every week.

Thousands? Are you taking the piss? We're gert massive and you could only dream of having TENS of thousands travelling to places like Woking! We're basically the Barcelona of league one.

 

[Big Bird]

Thousands? Are you taking the piss? We're gert massive and you could only dream of having TENS of thousands travelling to places like Woking! We're basically the Barcelona of league one.

Away fans don't tend to travel in La Liga

 

[JJH]

Thousands? Are you taking the piss? We're gert massive and you could only dream of having TENS of thousands travelling to places like Woking! We're basically the Barcelona of league one.

#UpTheGas #JohnWardsBarmyArmy

 

[07.05.16]

#UpTheGas #JohnWardsBarmyArmy

#BetterDeadThanRed #ProwedToBeAGashead

 

[Indian Dan]

Fuck the fans - were any horses injured?

 

[Andy Proctor]

According to the Rovers forum, we're on a tax swindle as obviously there were well over 1000 there...

I wouldnt listen to the rovers fans on there as before the game one of them was talking about saying they took 4000 to us on the opening day of the season in 2007when infact it was 1770. Rovers took 765 to vale and by the looks of that pic they were probably allocated about 1200.

 

[PuB]

Who stabbed who?

 

[ComeOnIrene]

I was at the game but was at the back of the stand and had no real idea why the trouble escalated in the way it did. Heard rumours of heavy handed stewarding but what prompted that I don't know. Rovers fans will only have reacted in the way they did if something untoward happened though, of that I have no doubt. That's not to say certain Gasheads didn't exacerbate the situation with their aggressive actions, but there is absolutely no way it would have kicked off in the way it did unless something particularly bad had happened to warrant it.

After the game it kicked off big time and it was unlike anything I have seen before in what was merely a standard League One fixture. How the Vale stewards conspired to spark further trouble when every Gashead was already 20 yards away and on their way out of the stadium I'll never know. It prompted Rovers fans to react and all this was taking place in the car park where all the supporters club coaches and minibuses were, so near enough everyone got caught up in it whether they liked it or not.

A couple of Gasheads must have been involved in the initial flashpoint during the game, but equally the stewards/police must have been at fault too for it to escalate in the way it did.

 

[JJH]

I was at the game but was at the back of the stand and had no real idea why the trouble escalated in the way it did. Heard rumours of heavy handed stewarding but what prompted that I don't know. Rovers fans will only have reacted in the way they did if something untoward happened though, of that I have no doubt. That's not to say certain Gasheads didn't exacerbate the situation with their aggressive actions, but there is absolutely no way it would have kicked off in the way it did unless something particularly bad had happened to warrant it.

After the game it kicked off big time and it was unlike anything I have seen before in what was merely a standard League One fixture. How the Vale stewards conspired to spark further trouble when every Gashead was already 20 yards away and on their way out of the stadium I'll never know. It prompted Rovers fans to react and all this was taking place in the car park where all the supporters club coaches and minibuses were, so near enough everyone got caught up in it whether they liked it or not.

A couple of Gasheads must have been involved in the initial flashpoint during the game, but equally the stewards/police must have been at fault too for it to escalate in the way it did.

The video recorded by a fan shows a steward swing for a fan originally, obviously something must've provoked it but it's no surprise that it kicked off like it did.

 

[valefan16]

The video recorded by a fan shows a steward swing for a fan originally, obviously something must've provoked it but it's no surprise that it kicked off like it did.

Count themselves lucky! When it kicked off against Wolves a few years back the local plod let loose the dogs which attacking fans regardless of being involved or not!

 

[IanPVFC]

Four were arrested including one for assaulting a police officer and one for racially-aggravated abuse.

http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/vide...at-vale-park/story-30149210-detail/story.html

 

[Indian Dan]

Stewards are a weird one. Apparently our esteemed leader also owns a firm that farms out stewards at other clubs. All the stewards at Oxford home games are Swindon fans so I've been told. Mighty strange.

Perhaps he'd like to build on that and give up leading our club into oblivion.

 

[valefan16]

The issue we have is the local plod hit us with massive bills and we've had to build a fence etc. To get the bill down we know seem to have bouncers rather than stewards!

 

[Gashead]

The issue we have is the local plod hit us with massive bills and we've had to build a fence etc. To get the bill down we know seem to have bouncers rather than stewards!

Quite a few clubs do now, and its those that tend to be the most hostile environments for fans. Don't think the bouncer types have the mentality to properly steward a football game, seen it before and they don't deal with any problems (as in, quite typical football crowd problems) well.

Can't really comment on Saturday as I didn't go, but its all a bit weird how it kicked off. Unreserved seating for some, reserved seating for others for example is a bit strange. Not just extending the segregation in that scenario is again, weird. Wasn't a huge away following and the Vale employees had the capacity and resources to deal with the problems. They didn't and it seems to have escalated from there, with both sides causing grief.

 

[Marked Ox]

We do have our own stewards, just not enough of them by far. The club is currently trying to recruit new stewards to reduce or remove the need for Agency steward's but this will take quite a bit of time I would assume. It has been a touchy subject, especially when they got overzealous.

Stewards are a weird one. Apparently our esteemed leader also owns a firm that farms out stewards at other clubs. All the stewards at Oxford home games are Swindon fans so I've been told. Mighty strange.

Perhaps he'd like to build on that and give up leading our club into oblivion.

 

[valefan16]

Quite a few clubs do now, and its those that tend to be the most hostile environments for fans. Don't think the bouncer types have the mentality to properly steward a football game, seen it before and they don't deal with any problems (as in, quite typical football crowd problems) well.

Can't really comment on Saturday as I didn't go, but its all a bit weird how it kicked off. Unreserved seating for some, reserved seating for others for example is a bit strange. Not just extending the segregation in that scenario is again, weird. Wasn't a huge away following and the Vale employees had the capacity and resources to deal with the problems. They didn't and it seems to have escalated from there, with both sides causing grief.

Its all a shame as the atmosphere between the two sets of fans seemed fine.

 

[Gassy]

Fuck the fans - were any horses injured?

Don't worry, your sister is fine.

 

[Gassy]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1236546379773836

 

[Indian Dan]

My sister knows better than to be a Gashead. But she does ride horses as opposed to punching them.

 

[Gassy]

My sister knows better than to be a Gashead. But she does ride horses as opposed to punching them.

Touche

I'd like to carry this on, but fear we'll both end up getting banned

 

[GEORGE]

[QUOTE="Indian Dan, post: 582139, member: 40. But she does ride horses .[/QUOTE]
The mind boggles !!!!

 

[eric read]

Stewards are a weird one. Apparently our esteemed leader also owns a firm that farms out stewards at other clubs. All the stewards at Oxford home games are Swindon fans so I've been told. Mighty strange.

Perhaps he'd like to build on that and give up leading our club into oblivion.

It's not all stewards that come from Power's company, just some.

The safety officer that contracted them has been sacked and I suspect that once we're no longer contractually bound they'll be gone. It is a fuck up of massive proportions though and we haven't really had a high profile game since people have known about it. We play Rovers in a couple of weeks time, so I would expect the stewards from Swindon to get it from both sides if they try to get heavy. They are a security firm rather than stewards, so if they try any night club bouncer tactics with the home fans it will definitely kick off, now people know where they're from.

 

[Gerry Gow]

Never their fault don't you know??

 

[ThisTinpotLeague]

According to the Rovers forum, we're on a tax swindle as obviously there were well over 1000 there...

Trope alert trope alert trope alert.