BFTG - Bolton (a)

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

Actually looking at that again the fan is walking in front of the Steward with hands in the air, nothing threatening, leaving the ground as asked. I would possibly suggest that the grabbing round the neck is assault. Then there is a suggestion from the steward that if he hits him, he is going straight to the nick, despite no threats of any sort from the fan. Despite being pressed to the wall for no reason.

[semtex1871]

They wouldn't have done that for no reason, it may have been that there was a group of Bolton fans nearer that exit who had been goading the Reading fans.

The exit we headed towards was actually away from where the Bolton fans were sitting.

All the stewards would have seen was a group of guys trying to leave by an exit further away from their seats without a clear explanation.

There were two of us and we had clearly explained to them that we wished to applaud the players whilst they warmed down.

It is their responsibility to take any measures they think are necessary to prevent crowd trouble.

The stewards created the trouble in this instance.

Regardless they need to empty the stadium as soon as possible so that all the post-match work can be completed as quickly as possible as it costs the club the longer the stadium is open/staff are on duty.

From the moment they asked us to leave, we were always heading towards an exit.

If they had asked you to leave by another exit and you ignored them or tried to argue the point rather than just listening to them and complying then any suspicions are likely to have been exaggerated, plus you had already ignored the guy who asked you to leave and stayed longer to clap the players.

We didn't think that leaving via the next exit along would be such an issue, plus we didn't ignore them when they asked us to leave - we were heading towards an exit.

If the steward has already asked your friend to leave by a certain exit and he's ignored the steward and your group had already stayed in the stadium when they'd ask you to leave then the next course of action is to use slight force to lead him out that exit, which it looks like he's done in the video

The steward actually used force to lead him out of Exit 2 - the exit we were heading towards!

hardly excessive force in my opinion.

He gripped the back of my friends neck for no reason at all - my friend was walking away with his hands up. Once the steward had ejected my friend, the steward then pinned my friend up against a wall.

The stewards actions got the job done and with no harm done to anyone, apart from maybe hurting your friends pride a little - but considering you'd all rudely ignored the requests of stewards just trying to do their job in the first place I don't think many people will lose sleep over that.

See above.

Please report this incident to the police.....tell them you have video evidence of the assault taking place and you want this man banned from ever being a steward again....disgusting

[ankeny]

I'm the guy who filmed it all and you're right. At the point of being asked to leave, we started heading towards an exit (we'll call it Exit 1). As we started leaving, the players came out so we prolonged our time in the stadium by walking along the row towards the next exit along (Exit 2) in order to applaud the players whilst we were heading towards an exit. Steward 1, who had originally asked us to leave, then shouted to Steward 2 - who was situated in between the two exits - telling him to make us walk back towards Exit 1. By this time we were literally a couple of meters away from Exit 2 and my friend told Steward 2 that we may as well leave through the exit we're closest to. We didn't realise this would be such an issue but Steward 2 then started shouting aggressively at us, telling us to leave through Exit 1.

I can only assume Steward 3 (the one in the video) thought he had something to prove to his colleagues because he then grabbed my friend - who had told Steward 2 we would just leave through exit 2 - and ejected him from the stadium using (IMO) excessive force.

They wouldn't have done that for no reason, it may have been that there was a group of Bolton fans nearer that exit who had been goading the Reading fans. All the stewards would have seen was a group of guys trying to leave by an exit further away from their seats without a clear explanation. It is their responsibility to take any measures they think are necessary to prevent crowd trouble. Regardless they need to empty the stadium as soon as possible so that all the post-match work can be completed as quickly as possible as it costs the club the longer the stadium is open/staff are on duty.

If they had asked you to leave by another exit and you ignored them or tried to argue the point rather than just listening to them and complying then any suspicions are likely to have been exaggerated, plus you had already ignored the guy who asked you to leave and stayed longer to clap the players. If the steward has already asked your friend to leave by a certain exit and he's ignored the steward and your group had already stayed in the stadium when they'd ask you to leave then the next course of action is to use slight force to lead him out that exit, which it looks like he's done in the video, hardly excessive force in my opinion.

The stewards actions got the job done and with no harm done to anyone, apart from maybe hurting your friends pride a little - but considering you'd all rudely ignored the requests of stewards just trying to do their job in the first place I don't think many people will lose sleep over that.

Sorry Joe,but your wrong on this,outside that ground it would have been assault.

[gazzer, loyal royal]

I can get the club involved if you so wish? Pretty sure the club would be appalled if our fans are being treated like this. He clearly puts his hands up in a non threatening manner.

[dizzynewheights]

Not read any of the steward related posts but its clear from the video matey is a non lifting shirter. The stewards doing anything other than having a polite word would have been OTT.

With that said, nobody got hurt so quit the whining.

[PieEater]

With that said, nobody got hurt so quit the whining.

^this.

[SuperRoyal]

I can get the club involved if you so wish? Pretty sure the club would be appalled if our fans are being treated like this. He clearly puts his hands up in a non threatening manner.

Hi, thanks for the offer. I'm currently in correspondence with a Football Supporters' Federation caseworker who is looking into what the best course of action is. My guess is that I will be contacting both BWFC and Reading. Either way, I'd rather not get the police involved if possible. As long as this guy is appropriately dealt with, I don't want to see anyone getting arrested.

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

He suggested your mate would be arrested if he hit him, this to me sounds like provocation.

Why not get the police involved, having seen a nobber who is as mild mannered as they come get hassle at Walsall I think it was it is clear that too often stewards cause the problems rather than calm things down to the satisfaction of all.

As for Dizzy and PE, wait till it happens to you for no good reason, all they needed to do was cajole along, a friendly word to leave now please, having seen some of the Tangoes in action at RFC and comments on here and other places too often these guys are thugs in charge, and that does not make things ok at all.

[Royal Lady]

With that said, nobody got hurt so quit the whining.

^this.

If it's not dealt with and reported, next time someone else could easily get hurt - or won't you care if it's not a fan of your team?

Clearly, they were heavy handed and there was absolutely no need to grab him or push him against the wall - kudos for his mate to have recorded it all and I hope the steward in question is sacked and has his licence taken away.

[dizzynewheights]

oh please. He got manhandled out of the ground. Big whoop. He wont lose his licence, probably won't even get a telling off. The video has no context, he/they can say he was being abusive/violent/whatever they like before the video was turned on. Of course it shouldn't happen but I swear you JCL shirter pricks won't be happy till attending football is indistinguishable from popping down the supermarket

[Ian Royal]

oh please. He got manhandled out of the ground. Big whoop. He wont lose his licence, probably won't even get a telling off. The video has no context, he/they can say he was being abusive/violent/whatever they like before the video was turned on. Of course it shouldn't happen but I swear you JCL shirter pricks won't be happy till attending football is indistinguishable from popping down the supermarket

I'm not sure why you think it should be normal that going to a football match should involve the risk of being manhandled for no reason.

[dizzynewheights]

Ian, the day you actually attend a football match your opinion might be relevant. Till then, kindly move along

[Ian Royal]

Ian, the day you actually attend a football match your opinion might be relevant. Till then, kindly move along

Would it be more relevant if I had a trantrum and left the match to spend an afternoon in the pub instead?

[dizzynewheights]

blah blah blah

See my previous post

[royal_ross]

Good to see Blackman score, maybe the 'moaners' celebrated the pen. Can't understand the hate for a guy who's jumped from League One to the Premiership! At least judge him this season and not 2 games in!

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

oh please. He got manhandled out of the ground. Big whoop. He wont lose his licence, probably won't even get a telling off. The video has no context, he/they can say he was being abusive/violent/whatever they like before the video was turned on. Of course it shouldn't happen but I swear you JCL shirter pricks won't be happy till attending football is indistinguishable from popping down the supermarket

I'm not sure why you think it should be normal that going to a football match should involve the risk of being manhandled for no reason.

Anything that happened before matters not. He was doing what was being asked of him, then the steward laid hands on him. But that's okay as he is at a football match

[One8Seven1]

That same steward grabbed another fan for no apparent reason other than wanting him out of the ground for celebrating a point against a promotion rival. He had him by the collar, then the lad lost his footing and the steward reacted as if the fan was trying to swing a leg at him. It was only when another fan in front of me stuck his finger in the stewards face and told him he was a copper and he was bang out of order that he let go, gruffed and walked away. The fan wasn't a copper either, but the steward knew he was in the wrong and didn't want to chance his luck any further. It seems he likes abusing his role as a glorified bouncer.

[Big Ern]

Having worked as a Steward in my Uni years to earn a bit of cash, I see wrong on both sides, however it appears the fan in question caused it. There are generally 2 types of stewards, part time students who couldn't give a shit and career Stewards that are generally knuckle draggers. No doubt that the Steward in question over reacted outside the stadium, but if the fan was asked to leave by a certain exit and was blatantly ignored, the fan deserved to be thrown out. After all, stewards don't make the rules, they are given very specific task such as which exit to allow fans to leave from along with telling fans to sit down during games. These rulings are to protect the safety of the supporters, and although they seem a bit 'over the top' they are regulations. The fan felt he could do what he wanted so the steward did his job inside the ground, but out side the Steward was bang out of order.

Stewards are not kill joys, they have a job to do to protect the health and safety of those inside the stadium. Like all things some will be less subtle than others on how they achieve this, but got to say the fan was a fooling idiot for thinking he could do what he wanted.

[dizzynewheights]

Anything that happened before matters not. He was doing what was being asked of him, then the steward laid hands on him. But that's okay as he is at a football match

^ another no mark who never goes. Dunno why your sort even click on these threads

[LoyalRoyal22]

Really boring. Who cares? Probably the same group singing for Alfie every time Blackman put a foot wrong. Should have chucked them out earlier.