FRENCH FOOTBALL RIOT

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVIII, Issue XLVIII, 19 February 1913, Page 3

FRENCH FOOTBALL RIOT

ATTACK ON REFEREE AND SCOTS. The English football writer, Hamuli Stuart, thtie describes the Paris riot on New Year's Day : AltTiough one has seen a Tew host;±e d-einons.trat.icns by angry and very partisan crowds, I cannot recall any parallel to the. "conduct of a large section ot the crowd at the close of the game at Pare des .Princes. Anything more ll ?ly ard threatening than the attitude of the I crowd could hardly be imagined ittenst, on a foo.ball field. A French | crowd is still highly emotional, and under impulse might do what no otiier crowd would do, even if they repented their action at leisure One saw almost all through tne match that there would be some sort of demonstration at the end, and in the second half, when Mr John Baxter, wfto was the first referee to rig:dly enforce the rules against the Frenchmen, began to infl ; c:. a series of well-deserved penalties upon the home side, it was abundantly obvious, from the venomous character of the "hooting. that the demonstration might be of a very hostile and dangerous ' kind —not mere-ly protest by shouting, but by aggre 6 sive action. The fact seems to have "escaped tne French officials, and no special provision was made to check the crowd. The force of mounted policemen certainly galloped to t.he scene of action as scon, as they saw what was going to happen, but their doing so made matters worse, for they rode down'and knocked over all and. sundry in their course from the end of the field to the entrance to the pavilion. The referee and the Scottish players were very roughly handled. Mr Baxter was struck several times, while more than, one of the Scottish players and of the Scottish paTty were hit by stones. Usher received a nasty knock 011 the eye from a- stone, but no one else wa? reallv hurt. If the Scottish players had retaliated anything might have happened, for the crowd were in a state of frenzy, and it was, of course, a case of a thousand to one. The crowd were not only incensed at the referee, but took t.he defeat very, badly. - 1 After I had joined the Scottish party in the large motor-car which took us to the field there seemed some prospect- of a . further hostile demonstration. It did not, however, take, the form of action. This was just as well, for a, bodyguard of Scottish residents iri* Paris had been gradually gathering round the car, and, if there had been any attack; it l would, this time have been met with, force, as -'the piper" with the Scottish, party had struck up "The Cock of the North." and had thus literally sounded "the war voice cf the new "Scottish guard."' x There was one pleasing aspect of a very disagreeable experience: A large body of French sportmen had banded themselves together, and after driving some of the disgruntled- spectators away had "occupied" a position outside, the •gates. There they waited until the motor with, the Scottish party went past, and did their best by loudly cheering the Scottish side to make up for the discreditable conduct of the other and larger section of the crowd. • occurrence caused the French officials much bain. Happily it passed off .without serious consequences. .