Thetownend.com

On 8 August there was a serious incident at Newcastle Central station
involving Sunderland fans returning from a pre-season friendly at Hearts,
which resulted in 4 fans being hospitalised, 3 with head injuries caused by
police batons and one with injuries caused by dog bites. One of the fans is
still off work with his injuries. No police officers were injured although
Northumbria police say that some police dogs suffered bruising ( and
published a picture of one of them being petted by a WPC)

The versions of the police and the fans about the causes of this incident
are diametrically opposed. The police say that fans off that train arrived
"intent on violence" and attacked the police officers and their dogs. The
fans say that police at the back were pushing them forward whilst those at
the front were pushing them back, leaving them nowhere to go and that the
trouble started when 2 police officers at the front unleashed their dogs
which started biting fans.

The police have so far arrested about 40 fans but all have been bailed and
so far none have been charged with anything.

Sunderland FC have now banned fans because they were arrested. We believe
that the principle of innocent until proved guilty should apply, and also
that anyone banned by a club should have a chance to present their case.
That's just natural justice. If and when any fans are found guilty by a
court of offences of violence, that's a different situation but at the
moment that's not the case, and indications have been given that in many
cases no charges will be laid.

Sunderland fans have launched a petition for the club bans to be lifted and
are asking for support from other clubs fans.

You do not have to make a judgement about what happened on the station and
whether any of those fans acted wrongly. A court will do that in due course
if any of them are charged.

The principle here is that clubs shouldn't ban fans for being arrested,
before they have been found guilty of anything, or had an opportunity to
present their side of the story to either the Club or a court.

Follow the link below to sign the petition. Thanks for your support.

http://www.fsf.org.uk/petitions/sunderland-ban-quinn-petition.php

wont be signing. Too many questions about the sunderland fans unanswered for me.

That and I couldnt really give a shit.

what he said

I remember when Hibs played Sunderland in a pre-season friendly up in Edinburgh. Lots of trouble from a load of unsavouries. Wouldn't surprise me if they had it coming.

They are in the main like a more chavvy Geordie.

Nuff said.

 I'll sign it, after all if we got into bother with the football authorities or something, I'm sure they'd do the same for us. Oh.

Kind of like anti-pasties?

That was a bit cornyish.

What's your beef? There's not mushroom for anything else.

Think Mr D would be more peperone than pepperoni..for his eyetie starter

I agree. Sunderland fans always stood by us when we were persecuted by the authorities. I remember very clearly that they refused to take up the place in the prem that was rightfully ours by 'natural justice'. So I'll be delighted to back them for kicking in some police dogs.

Did they, I thuoght they couldn't wait to walk over our grave plus their fans we bumped into at Wembley were cunts of the highest order althuogh they were sorted.   

I think he was taking the piss chalkie

Doh. Sometimes I no good at this fucking game. In fact make that most of the time. Fair play Iffy, reel it in.

My mate got punched by a Sunderland fan on the way out of Wembley after our Play Off victory.

Ill sign it though.

My mate was hammerred and was giving Steve Cram some real abuse as we left the ground.

Is he a police dog?

I signed it.

So did I.

All police dog handlers in my experience are Arseholes........my arse at QPR in the 90s bears witness.

Signed it. Chose to join the football supporters association too and get emails from them.

Will Sunderland be demoted if I don't sign?

Them and Bolton can go and fuck themselves

WORD

You got bummed by a dog handler?

Agreed. Fuck em.

I went to a corporate do at Roker Park not long after our demotion. The level of smugness from Dennis Smith put me off them for life.

I shan't be signing it.

'Bleacher Report
12 November 2009
by Owen Watson

The Football Supporters Federation have launched an online petition in response to Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn’s decision to ban a small number of Black Cats supporters involved in an incident at Newcastle Central Train Station on Aug. 9.For those that don’t know, the incident occurred following a preseason friendly against Heart of Midlothian in Edinburgh. Reaction from Sunderland supporters against the Northumbria police has been fierce, with many independently verified accounts contrasting with the police force’s version of events.Fans had been instructed at the ground to board a specific additional train that would take them directly back to Sunderland, avoiding the need to alight at Newcastle to switch onto the Metro line. Apparently there was a mix-up and the train stopped in Newcastle. Supporters on the train were kept on the train until police armed with batons and unmuzzled police dogs were lined up outside the carriages. A police statement said that they had intelligence reports suggesting these fans were in the vicinity with the express purpose of engaging in organised fights with hooligans from Newcastle—this is despite video evidence showing many fans were passive during the chaos that ensued.It’s not clear what started the clashes, police claim that Sunderland fans attacked dogs, kicking and punching them to the ground and then stamping on them.A later Freedom of Information request revealed that no police dogs required veterinary treatment, despite the Northumbria police described attacks on the dogs as “the worst assaults in the Northumbria force’s history.”Three Sunderland supporters were hospitalised, with one suffering quite serious head injuries . Eye-witnesses described how the man suffered a fit on the scene and footage shows a pool of blood where the man was left to lie untreated for several minutes. It was a Sunderland supporter that provided aid to the injured man in the first instance, not the Northumbria police. The Metropolitan Police’s best practice apparently states that batons should not be aimed at the head unless there are exceptional circumstances, in other words, if the police officer’s life is at risk.The Northumbria Police admitted that their officers didn’t sustain any injuries on Aug. 9, so it seems that the action undertaken was unjustified.So where does Niall Quinn come into this?So far there have been no prosecutions relating to the incident made by the Northumbria police, around 30 supporters were arrested at the time. Bail terms are set to expire on Nov. 17.Despite this, the club has moved to ban supporters involved—before charges have been brought. The club has a zero-tolerance stance towards football-related violence.Normally I would say this policy is absolutely right, hooliganism should not be tolerated within the game.But this incident is different, the video evidence available combined with the testimonies of eye-witnesses points towards the actions of the Northumbria Police being the main contributing factor. The police were the aggressors in this saga.Perhaps a small group of fans responded poorly to the situation that they were faced with, but the large cloud of doubt that has fogies the horizon should have been considered by the club and they should have held fire. At least until charges had been brought against individuals.Even more curiously, the Northumbria Police insist they have not shared details of those arrested with the club. Which begs the question, where are Sunderland getting their information? In normal circumstances the club may well be right to back the police as they tackle football violence, but the extraordinary circumstances involved in this incident should have forced the club into a different course of action.Why are the Football Supporters Federation most vocally supporting the Black Cats? Shouldn’t the club be defending its own fans against police aggression?If football violence is wrong then surely football-related police violence is also wrong, Niall Quinn should keep supporters in the forefront of his thoughts.At all times.'

I am proposing a breakaway "Premier FSF", comprised of 89 teams. Unfortunately, under this system Sunderland, Bolton and Franchise will have to remain in the existing structure. Fans of the Premier FSF will not attend games at the "Tossers FSF", as it will become known. There will be no promotion or relegation.

Bolton will be the headquarters of the Tossers FSF and Phil Gartside will be its proconsul and Emperor for Life. He will get to sit in a golden throne atop a wonderful pile of manure hundreds of feet high. His face will be broadcast constantly on Sky Sports News 4. He will wear a special hat and be guarded by rabid dog-biting Sunderland fans. Every five years, Pete Winkelman will dig the pile of manure up and move it to another town.

Now thats something i would pay for to see happen