Does anyone have the right to behave badly at a football match?
The answer is obviously no.
So why recently have we had one or two so-called supporters take it upon themselves to think they have the right to throw beer over the opposition management, players, or in fact anyone who should be in the immediate vicinity is beyond me.
These people need to have a quick rethink!
May I remind everyone that the throwing of anything is totally against our ground regulations and anyone caught doing so will be issued with a banning order.
At our league game on New Year’s Day when we played Tonbridge Angels a very serious incident occurred mainly through the stupidity of one individual who decided, for whatever reason, that he would throw the contents of his container at an opposing official. An individual then decided to seek retribution.
The actions of these individuals were so out of order and it is the first time that we have ever witnessed this type of behaviour at our stadium. Had it not been for the quick and professional action of our security team this, in my opinion, could have erupted into a significant incident.
Bad behaviour is not acceptable and will not be tolerated. These two individuals will be banned from the ground.
This has since brought about a huge debate suggesting that we should consider withdrawing alcohol on match days. Now, I have very strong opinions on this subject and get totally hacked off when the minority, who always have a nasty habit of messing things up for the majority, cause this type of debate to even take place.
Here at Maidstone United we have always believed that the majority of our supporters are sensible people and why shouldn’t we as a club allow our supporters to make the decision that if they fancied a lager, cider or whatever, they could buy it at any time and go stand or sit in the stadium and relax and drink it. We spent a lot of time and money making sure that our supporters could enjoy that decision to have a drink anytime, anywhere in our stadium.
So once again the mindless idiots take it upon themselves to mess it up for the large majority and decide to throw beer pitch side and cause everyone untold problems.
So my solution to the minority is a simple one, if you throw anything we will catch you and ban you from watching any home games – as I believe that it is fairer to try to educate the minority and eradicate them from our crowd - than punish the majority who just want to have a drink and enjoy a game of football.
Bill
(The incident is currently being investigated by The Football Association and Kent Police).
