Monday, June 12, 2006
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What can you expect from England fans?
This weekend we had a guest in town: my sister's husband (Noblesvillain) was in London for his first stop on what looks like a punishing work trip around various parts of Europe. We decided to give him a true England experience, and (after taking a brief detour to Greenwich and the Prime Meridian) went to watch the England v. Paraguay World Cup match. We thought we'd take advantage of the nice day and join the crowds watching the match on the giant screen in Canary Wharf (instead of packing into a crowded, smoky pub). Due to a lack of time management (watching a character presentation about longitude, timekeeping and navigation at the Greenwich observatory, then wandering a few hundred feet east of the Prime Meridian to the point at which my GPS read 0 east), we arrived shortly after the first (and only) goal of the match. Watching the replays of the crowd reaction, it seemed like this was a good move: the goal happened so early in the match that many fans were equipped with full bottles/cans of beer or cider, thus their impassioned celebrations were characterized by gallons of liquids spraying in all directions.

However, our late arrival also meant that due to the crowds (estimated at 6000+) we had one of the worst spots you could imagine. We were off to the side of the square, behind a portable dumpster and somewhat in the underbrush. Our view of the match was fine except for a tree that entirely obscured the middle of the screen (most of the middle of the screen, I should say). Except for Mrs. Dunce who also had taller people standing in front of her. She couldn't see anything. Except the small group of young lads behind us who were engaged in stereotypical behavior of English youth (one was drunk enough to fall on the ground and lie there where his [also drunken] mates could take pictures of him. Until he roused himself enough to stand and vomit, not in our direction thankfully. And to throw beer on his friends [and assorted unlucky bystanders]. That was nice). At halftime we moved toward the front, still along the edge of the underbrush, and again next to a dumpster, but this time at a location where at least the Noblesvillain and I could see the screen without any obstruction. Mrs. Dunce, suffering from a height shortage, was not so lucky and chose this time to take her leave, heading for the shopping center until the game was finished.

About the middle of the second half (quite undistinguished as far as the football goes), there suddenly erupted some sort of ruckus very near us, with sudden sounds of broken glass and the sort of crowd movement that definitely indicates a fight. But unlike the sorts of sport-related fights I've seen before, it was more than two guys going at it, surrounded by a ring of onlookers, and soon to be broken up by police or security. Instead there seemed to be loads of people, throwing bottles at each other with full strength, swinging sticks (or something) at each other, and so on. Crowds of people were rushing in a panic from the scene, right in our direction, and even more concerning were the numbers of ill-tempered looking young men headed toward the fray. The trusty dumpster was suddenly very handy indeed as most of the action was on the other side of it. We decided, however, that we should amble away from the scene. Perhaps we were not running but our casual saunter out into the street had a sense of urgency about it. For a few moments the screen was shut off, displaying only a message saying something like "The live broadcast will not resume until order is restored".

But the broadcast resumed, and the Noblesvillain and I made our way back through the underbrush to a spot very near our original (non)viewing location, but where we were actually able to see the screen. This only lasted for five minutes or so, however, as the broadcast was interrupted again. Obviously the trouble was continuing in the same area (the remotely-controlled cameras were all pointing in that direction), so after a few minutes we decided to exit and find Mrs. Dunce in the shopping centre (ummm, if you decide to meet outside a Starbucks, make sure you indicate which one!). And it's a good thing we did; soon after we started walking there was a police announcement, indicating that the screening was finished and that people should make an orderly exit. As we had a head start, we were able to leave the area without incident.

It was very odd: there were no signs of police or security anywhere, until the very end when we were leaving and a few police vehicles showed up. It seems almost shocking that there would be no police presence at such a large public event, especially one involving football. News reports suggested that approximately 200 people were involved in the fighting, and that it may have stemmed from a conflict between Millwall and West Ham supporters. 16 people were injured, but no arrests were made.

Canary Wharf troubles in the news:
Sunday Life: "Mass brawls break out in London and Liverpool"
Mirror: "Home yobs face ban"
Independent: " Outdoor screenings suspended after brawl"
and the best of all, Telegraph: "Fans collect first points in the good behaviour league"

Monday, June 12, 2006 9:41:13 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [3]  | 
Monday, June 12, 2006 10:50:25 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
It's remarkable how little press attention this and the other fight in Liverpool has got, so thanks for writing this entry. No-one seems to know exactly what went on, or how those people ended up hospital. Are jouranlists just uninformed, lazy or attempting to maintain the positive mood surrounding this World Cup?

I don't agree, however, with the sentiment of the title of your this contribution. First, those involved in the fight in London were, it would appear, acting in their capacity as West Ham and Millwall fans intent on having a fight with each other, not England fans out for trouble with all takers. Those involved in Liverpool seem to be kids chucking stuff for a laugh - Liverpool copper said: "In the most part, it was good-natured, however a minority of people decided to spoil the event for everyone else by throwing missiles."

Second, as the Telegraph article points out, very few arrests were made and with the exception of the incidents in Canary Wharf and Liverpool millions of England fans watched the game peacefully in the UK, Germany and elsewhere.

The other thing that strikes me as odd is that the Canary Wharf management company was consulted by the police and but Tower Hamlets Borough Council was not. Canary Wharf plc seem to run their patch like a little private fiefdom, a super-rich safe-haven for international financiers in midst of East London, with all of the power and none of the responsibilities - or legitmacy - of a local authority.
Andrew | aghewitt1979AT NOSPAMyahoo dot co dot uk
Monday, June 12, 2006 11:25:41 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
Sorry to hear your experience was so sketchy, especially with a guest. It seems like there are always a few [blog edit] who ruin it for the majority.

Anyway, can you believe Trinidad & Tobago? Sweden was playing beautiful football but just couldn't finish. That T&T goalkeeper was amazing, though. England seemed to play a bit flat. Sweden-England is going to be an interesting match, depending on which teams show up.

Too bad the U.S. never showed up today.
Brad
Tuesday, June 13, 2006 9:11:51 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
Andrew, thanks for your insightful comment. Perhaps the title of my post was extreme and referred only to a tiny minority of idiots who don't deserve the title of England fans; sorry about that. But it's easy to misinterpret it: the Millwall-West Ham thing was only mentioned in a tiny minority of articles, and from my own perspective all I saw were blokes in England shirts rushing into the fray. Unfortunately these people perpetuate the stereotype of England supporters, which was one of the points I was trying to make (but then never got around to making).
The Dunce
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