Scottish Cup final whistle scenes

jhunter · May 24, 2016

He wasn't defending himself. The boy was already on the ground disorientated from a few punches from someone else. He ran up and cowardly kicked him on the head and ran quickly back in the direction of the stand. Even the most staunch could not claim self defence in this case. We also have to be honest with ourselves.

fair enough an absolutely cowardly act

pete · May 24, 2016

In 1993 my family came over on Holiday to visit me in Hengelo in the Netherlands. Being Football fanatics, taking my brother-in-law and his young son to a football game was a natural thing to do. FC Twente the local professional football club were playing against Feynoord in one of the last games FC Twente played at the Diekman Stadium before moving to the Grolsch Veste. The Diekman was an old stadium with old so called cowsheds and temporary seating. In those days there were fences all round the field.

All of a sudden the Feyenoord supporters to our right started climbing the fences and on to the field.

First it was a drizzle but quickly the numbers grew to a large crowd. They then headed to the stand I was sitting in and started climbing the fence into our stand. More and more FC Twente supporters started running away from the seating nearest the fence. I turned to my brother-in-law and said “Come on let's get out of here” Thankfully the person next to me said you can better stay in your seat and not become part of the large running crowd that had built up in the footpath beneath us.

Just at that moment the Riot police came marching in. The Dutch police don't muck about in these circumstances they did not care who they hit with their batons they swung at anyone to get them out of their way. They just wanted the area cleared so they could get through to the Feynoord supporters. My neighbour had given me sound advice to stay seated. The relief when the police had positioned themselves between the Feynoord supporters and myself and family was great. They pushed them back until they had a few remaining that could not get back over the fence in time not to be arrested.

On Saturday the Rangers supporters never got that police barricade. There was no fence for possible boozed up hooligans to climb The supporters in the stand had to face the oncoming onslaught of aggressive Hibs supporters without any protection. I know from my experience the fear they must have had with many sitting with their kids or grandchildren. I can also imagine their relief when a band of a few hundred Rangers supporters broke the barriers to defend the onslaught of snarling taunting Hibs hooligans.

Today in the newspapers photographs were printed in which it looked like the Police were looking for the Rangers supporters who were acting in self=defence to defend the Rangers Stands where woman and Children were sitting in fear. Yes the police should be looking for these people. Not to arrest them but to thank them for doing their job. I take my hat off to the people who formed a front line and challenged the real aggressors. If the Hibs supporters had stayed in their seats there would have been no need for Rangers supporters to defend themselves. It is the supporters attacking Rangers players that the police should be looking for. They are the real criminals.

Just thought I would bump this again for those who missed it.

calscot · May 24, 2016

Just thought I would bump this again for those who missed it.

Didn't look like a few hundred Rangers fans to me. More like about 100-150. By the same token, I thought it looked about 3000 Hibees rather than 5.

pete · May 24, 2016

Didn't look like a few hundred Rangers fans to me. More like about 100-150. By the same token, I thought it looked about 3000 Hibees rather than 5.

I refrained from counting and what is 50 people over 2500 sq meters.

Frankie · May 24, 2016

There were relatively few bears on the pitch - no more than 150-200 in my opinion which is less than 1% of our allocation. Many had already left by then.

On the other hand, I'd suggest there were around 10,000 Hibs fans on the pitch going by the similar looking number left in the stands.

That means there were 50 times more Hibs fans than bears on the park and those numbers should be considered by anyone in this independent commission.

Edited May 24, 2016 by Frankie

cooponthewing · May 24, 2016

Just read your post Pete. Fantastic piece of writing and hits the nail on the head.

JFK-1 · May 24, 2016

There were relatively few bears on the pitch - no more than 150-200 in my opinion which is less than 1% of our allocation. Many had already left by then.

On the other hand, I'd suggest there were around 10,000 Hibs fans on the pitch going by the similar looking number left in the stands.

That means there were 50 times more Hibs fans than bears on the park and those numbers should be considered by anyone in this independent commission.

I'm judging comfortably more than 5,000 by looking at the mob and trying to envisage that fitting into a stand.

pete · May 25, 2016

Hampden chaos: Only 138 cops were on duty inside the stadium when thousands of fans invaded the pitch

THE Record can reveal it was a very thin blue line that policed the crowd at Saturday's Scottish Cup Final with the majority of officers deployed OUTSIDE where cops had anticipated trouble might start.

ONLY 138 police officers were inside Hampden when thousands of Hibs fans invaded the pitch, the Record understands.

The majority of officers had already been deployedoutside the stadium as that was where security and police chiefs anticipated trouble might flare.

Officers then struggled to get back inside to help deal with the fans who had overwhelmed the security cordon.

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson has ordered the SFA to complete their investigation into the cup final chaos before the new season kicks off.

Hibs fans invaded the pitch at the final whistle after their team scored the winning goal in injury time.

Rangers goalkeeper Wes Foderingham was caught up in the chaos and pushed by a fan as he made his way off the pitch.

Yesterday, he called for action to be taken against those involved in the shameful scenes inside the national stadium.

A police source said that the limited numbers of police inside the stadium was one reason so few people were arrested during the melee.

The source added: “There were less than 150 cops inside the stadium – 138 is the exact figure I’ve been quoted.

“The rest were outside and there was a mad dash to try and get back in when the trouble broke out.

“That’s another reason why the arrest figure was so low, given the amount of trouble.

“It was because the limited number of police and stewards were concentrating more on just containing the fans on the pitch and trying to shepherd them back into the stands.

“They didn’t have enough cops to grab everyone who was causing trouble.

“Suffice to say there are a lot of serious questions getting asked in Police Scotland about the deployment of resources and the way that this was all handled.”

Witnesses backed up the account of most police being deployed outside the stadium as the match drew to a close on Saturday.

One autograph hunter who was outside Hampden said a chain of dozens of police barred him from approaching the stadium.

David Johnson, from Wishaw, didn’t have a ticket for the match but wanted to try to get some memorabilia signed by the teams.

The 56-year-old said he was stopped by an officer who told him he couldn’t go any further.

He added: “They were the width of the car park – from the gate up the steps to the entrance..

“I explained I was there for autographs but she said ‘You’re not going in today, it’s a big game and there could be trouble’.”

A police spokeswoman said the force would not discuss numbers or the deployment of officers.

Matheson said he wants the independent commission appointed in the wake of Saturday’s carnage to publish their findings before the new season starts in August.

He revealed his demand to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon yesterday as the new Scottish Cabinet met for the first time.

He also briefed the Cabinet about his discussions with the SFA and the police in the aftermath of the disorder.

A Scottish Government spokesman said the fact both Rangers and Celtic would be in the top flight next year had not influenced Matheson’s call for a prompt inquiry.

But he added that it had strengthened the argument for the review to be fast-tracked so lessons could be learned before the new season.

Foderingham, who is originally from Liverpool, was among the players targeted by some of the fans.

The Gers squad were prevented from speaking to the media in the aftermath of Saturday’s final but Foderingham took to Twitter yesterday morning and said action must be taken.

The 25-year-old posted: “Still getting over the disappointment of Saturday. A bad end to what has been a great season for the club. We go again in four weeks.

“Massive thank you for the outstanding support this season. It has been a pleasure to play in front of such special fans this year.

“As for the disgraceful scenes after the game I for one think action must be taken. No player should have to evade attack on the pitch.”

Dozens of fights broke out when Rangers fans rushed on to the pitch to confront the Hibs fans.

Hibernian chairman Rod Petrie has condemned the acts of violence after coming under fire for initially describing the invasion as “over exuberance”.

Read more at http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/hampden-chaos-only-138-cops-8043731#H9HXBag8Vu6448S6.99

pete · May 25, 2016