Dave’s Ramblings – Charlton – “We Wanna Go Home”
Last night, for the best part of an hour while leaving the ground, and with absolutely no warning, we were boxed in by the Metropolitan Police. No explanation, no announcement, no visible hint of trouble that might justify such an operation. Just 3,500 people on a bitterly cold evening, young, old, disabled, whose only crime was wanting to go home.
Instead, our physical wellbeing was placed at risk by the very people paid to serve and protect us. An impressive reimagining of that slogan.
Apparently, allegedly, there had been “a fight or two” before the game, and they didn’t want more. This was the half hearted justification for detaining thousands of people after full time. By that logic, every Wetherspoons in South London should be sealed every time trouble breaks out, for the safety of civilisation.
It’s a pathetically flimsy excuse, offered up to mask poor, inept policing.
People were physically hurt as a direct result of being forced into confined spaces. Others missed their train connections, who knows where some of them ended up for the night. Local residents were understandably alarmed, with noise, flashing lights, and the joy of explaining to their kids why the street suddenly looked like a low budget crime drama.
Even if one were to entertain the idea that this heavy handed response was necessary (I don’t), why was no announcement made before the end of the game? Fans could have staggered their exit, avoided the crush, or, radical thought, used the toilets inside the ground. Apparently communication was not part of the operational plan.
This isn’t an overreaction. The police action was aggressive, unwarranted, and made worse by the behaviour of several individual officers who were openly threatening and, in some cases, laughing at people’s predicament. Nothing reassures a trapped crowd quite like mockery from those in riot gear.
Chelsea FC should demand a full explanation and an apology from the Metropolitan Police. I won’t be holding my breath, oxygen felt like a luxury last night anyway.
Final word: respect to the Chelsea supporters who were subjected to this. Despite clear provocation, they didn’t react. Had things turned ugly, which they very easily could have, the blame would no doubt have landed squarely on the fans. Not on the police who engineered the conditions for trouble in the first place.
Dave M
