Violent start to U.K. soccer season

Press, 22 September 1980, Page 21

Violent start to U.K. soccer season

By

KEN COATES

in London

The soccer season in Britain has got off to a bad start. A man has appeared in court at Middlesborough charged with the murder of a youth, aged 17, who died from head injuries after street clashes between rival supporters at a Middlesborough-Nottingham-Forest match. At the match between Colchester and Millwall, Police Sergeant Frank Ruggles strode'on to .the field to caution a (Millwall player, Mel' Blyth, for swearing. The Sergeant’s action caused amazement among players and fans. It was unprecedented, and has triggered a national controversy on football hooliganism and measures that need to be taken to prevent it.

The policeman’s appearance on the field has been both condemned and supported.

Mr Anthony Buck, a Conservative member of Parliament and a Queen’s Counsel, said that a “bit Of bad language on the field is not sufficient cause for a police officer to intervene in the fray.” Other commentators say that even though Sergeant Ruggles may have raised a few eyebrows, he was acting lawfully and within his -powers.

It has been pointed out that Section 5 of the Public Order Act makes it an offence for any person in any public place to use “threatening, abusive, or insulting words” likely to cause a . breach of the peace. . ’

The burly sergeant apparently > thought that Blyth’s language during an argument with, his own goalkeeper could have incited . some among the crowd of 2700 to acts of violence.

The supporters of Sergeant Ruggles argue that if the policeman reasonably believed the player was committing an offence, the law entitled him not merely, -to. caution Blyth — he could have arrested him on the spot. A soccer fan was fined S4OO for breaching the peace at a match between Oldham Athletic and Sheffield Wednesday. Five policemen were hurt during a race riot which held up the game for 30 minutes until fighting fans were brought under control.

Some critics are arguing that fines are not sufficient penalty. Some hard-line soccer administrators have called for a return of the birch. Other commentators have advocated depriving offenders of seeing Saturday matches by sending them

to attendance centres for several weeks. The Football Association has taken decisive action particularly since the Home Secretary (Mr William Whitelaw) promised stronger measures to preserve law and order. The Sheffield Wednesday club has been ordered to close its standing terraces for the next four home matches as punishment for the behaviour of ■some of its fans in the riot at.Oldham. The association has also ordered that the next four away matches should be all-ticket fixtures, no tickets to be sold by the club to its supporters.

As compensation for the loss of income this will cause host clubs, Sheffield Wednesday will pay each of them $3OOO, as well as value added tax.

This means the episode will cost the club $13,800, more than any fine yet imposed by the Football Association for crowd misbehaviour. The Football Association argues that clubs have spent a great deal or ground safety and reconstruction. and tarraces have been closed off to allow segregation. It says, however, that many of the recent disturbances . • have occurred outside -grounds. It , condemns liquor on trains

and buses, and says while it is possible to stop the sale of liquor at grounds, if it can be bought just outside, there are problems.

Every week in Britain during the soccer season about 2300 police are on duty at matches up and down the country at an estimated cost of $4 million.

There is an increasing clamour that they should be allowed to enforce the law when they consider it to be flagrantly and deliberately violated, in spite of a traditional reluctance by police to step on to the fields themselves.