Join Now
Toronto FC needs to control its idiot fans right now
Toronto FC fans were misbehaving yet again Saturday in Columbus. From the Columbus Dispatch:
Quote:
The mutual frustration of a draw turned physical after the game. Unruly fans, including some from a contingent of an estimated 1,500 Toronto supporters, confronted one another and the police in parking lots to the south and east of the stadium. Multiple arrests were made and mace or pepper spray was used to break up at least one melee.
At least twenty Columbus police cruisers and a heli-copter were still patrolling the lots 45 minutes after the game. Columbus police said that some fans were ejected from the stadium and there were at least three arrests.
A security guard said that Toronto fans ripped a stadium railing from its bearings. Multiple rows of bleachers in the Toronto section were twisted and bent. Toronto fans also unfurled multiple vulgar banners that were removed by security.
At least twenty Columbus police cruisers and a heli-copter were still patrolling the lots 45 minutes after the game. Columbus police said that some fans were ejected from the stadium and there were at least three arrests.
A security guard said that Toronto fans ripped a stadium railing from its bearings. Multiple rows of bleachers in the Toronto section were twisted and bent. Toronto fans also unfurled multiple vulgar banners that were removed by security.
When I envision the worst possible PR incidents for MLS and American soccer, I come up with these three items:
- MLS folds
- USA fails to qualify for World Cup
- MLS fans take part in hooligan-inspired violence that causes serious injuries to other fans or the police
TFC must immediately begin putting pressure on its supporter club leadership to stop the violence and property damage. If the supporters clubs won't show leadership here, then TFC itself needs to begin removing their privileges to force the issue. I am not sure TFC management takes this issue seriously enough. Where is the statement? Where is the plan to work with the supporters clubs to find the guilty individuals and discipline them?
I took a quick swing by the Red Patch Boys' forum and here are some comments from there verbatim and just because my grandparents might read it, I should warn you that some of the language is quite obscene.
Quote 1.
Quote:
The part about the stadium damage is NOT true. That railing was already shaky and somebody simple took it off it's base. About 5 minutes before the game ended however some idiot decided to throw it over the stands and onto the tent below. Security/police saw the whole thing and immediately bust into the stands to grab the guy. But he didn't BREAK the railing to begin with, he was just stupid enough to decide to throw a 6 foot piece of steel down below. That was it. It's not as if TFC fans were running around the south stands ripping up seats or railings. Gawd newspapers piss me off.
Quote:
Icould give a flying ******** about the respect of the columbus fans. If your not going to be pssionate and emotonal about it the go watch pointy ball... I'm not saying we should go looking for fights but sure as shit if they come to me or anyone around me I'll give them trouble... I'm sure nobody went looking for trouble but thats what happens when you have 1500 fans who are passionate and emotional about their team. If a fan of the other side were to come up to me and want to shake my hand after a match i would... maybe even share a pint with him... but if he comes looking for trouble then trouble he will get!...
as for the railing that was pretty stupid... do it hink the guy should be skull ********ed and boot partied for it? no...who ever thinks this should be boot partied themselves... we are all brothers, and when your brother makes a mistake you help them, not skull ******** them.
alcohol+football= shit happens
as for the railing that was pretty stupid... do it hink the guy should be skull ********ed and boot partied for it? no...who ever thinks this should be boot partied themselves... we are all brothers, and when your brother makes a mistake you help them, not skull ******** them.
alcohol+football= shit happens
Quote:
I witnessed a TFC "fan," i use that term loosely, rip a paper towel dispenser off the wall in the bathroom. I gave it to security and it was embarrasing.
Quote:
First off great job by the RPBs and the organization...Sorry about Flush and the shite with his brother...Have to say that I was REALLy disappointed by some TFC fans in the parking lot...some morons throwing full beers(cans and bottles) and hitting our own fans..also after the game some TFC moron attacking an old man and his granddaughter wearing Crew shirts who just happened to be walking by...F*CKING DISGUSTING!!! If I ever see your ugly face at a match again mate I will kick the living daylights out of you!
Quote:
Some of you people are hilarious. "Oh Noes there was fights, and cops and shit was broken. Next time when Columbus comes into town now I wont be able to kiss there ass, trade scarves and show them around our city. Then we wont be called CLASSY FANS anymore OH NOES OMGZ" Grow a pair you pansies. Its football if you want to make friends trade scarves and jerk of on how classy you are to each other go coach house league baseball. I'm proud that our boys stood up for them selves. Those Columbus losers were asking for it. Some of you chicken shits must be drooling at the thought of texting security anything that dosent feel right for you. Are you lives so empty you want to be called classy and good fans by people you wont ever see again. I'am not a hooligan or a hooligan supporter but I call ********** when i see it.
The fan who threw that piece of metal off the back of the bleachers should be a) charged with a crime, and b) have his season ticket stripped and face at least a season-long ban. What happens if that railing maims or kills someone? This isn't a slippery slope argument. This is violent and potentially lethal behavior on the part of Toronto fans.
I am sorry, this simply doesn't happen with other teams. Chicago's fans always travel in large numbers and I don't think they have these kinds of continuing problems. DC fans travel everywhere and I can only think of one incident that has ever caused an injury - and the guilty party in that incident was banned immediately after being identified by other DC supporters.
The onus is now on TFC management to make clear to the supporters clubs that there will be serious consequences if violent activity and property damage continues. If TFC management is ineffective at that, then the league should involve itself.
I suspect that Saturday was as close as we've ever seen to someone being killed or seriously maimed at an MLS match. We cannot allow for us to get that close again.
Below are some more photos and video I found on Flickr and Youtube:
Editor: And here's Bill's take on it.
Share
Post a Comment
Total Comments 41
Comments
-
Some of this is clear exaggeration, but there were definitely some problems present at the stadium. Let's face it, a majority of Toronto's male fans were probably drinking since getting on buses to go to Columbus that morning. This probably had the most profound impact on fan behavior.
Secondly, the security detail for this match was horrible at best. If Toronto FC had been detained in their seats for 20 or 30 minutes following the match while the rest of the stadium was cleared in an efficient manner the post match crap would've been kept to a minimum.Posted 30 Mar 2009 at 01:36 PM by clevelandstoker 
-
US Soccer has finally made it (Even though they were Canadians). We have hooligans. Just like Europe! Promotion and relegation here we come!
Posted 30 Mar 2009 at 01:41 PM by Tobin
-
People can talk all they want about security details and drinking and whatever, but there is one and only solution to this problem and it can be applied immediately and by anyone.
Don't be an idiot.
That's it. That's the solution. Don't start fights and arguments over soccer games. Don't push people. Don't throw things that might hurt people. Don't clap sarcastically at police officers. Don't wave your flag at someone because they wear a different color. Don't think holding a scarf gives you the right to belittle someone who doesn't.
Cheer, yell, jump up and down during the game, but once it's over, don't be an idiot. It's really that simple.Posted 30 Mar 2009 at 01:59 PM by monster 
-
Don't taze me, guy!
FWIW, 100 Toronto supporters came to KC and couldn't have been much better to deal with, and that's me speaking both as a staffer and as a supporter. A plane trip does not equal tens of buses, I know, but it takes two to tango, and the only serious problem our visiting supporters have ever had was also in Columbus.Posted 30 Mar 2009 at 02:01 PM by SamPierron
-
A few comments on the Red Patch boards indicated they think the idiots tend not to pay for the fly-away roadtrips and end up on the cheaper bus trips.Quote:Originally Posted by SamPierron
Don't taze me, guy!
FWIW, 100 Toronto supporters came to KC and couldn't have been much better to deal with, and that's me speaking both as a staffer and as a supporter. A plane trip does not equal tens of buses, I know, but it takes two to tango, and the only serious problem our visiting supporters have ever had was also in Columbus.Posted 30 Mar 2009 at 02:05 PM by Aaron Stollar
-
Not taking sides here, but opposing fans shouldn't need to be kept forcefully apart to avoid incidents. I don't know if TFC's supporters have any central leadership like many of the other supporters groups do, but they need to work toward stamping this type of problem out quickly. Furthermore, I think responsibility now falls to the league office to prevent this from happening in the future. An official warning toward TFC threatening to dock points for future incidents would be no way over the line.
Drunken idiocy happens. I've been hit by paper cups of beers at matches from both supporting and opposing fans, and really couldn't care less. But violence and property destruction in ANY form is absolutely unacceptable, no matter how minor the parties involved believe it to be.Posted 30 Mar 2009 at 02:08 PM by dirtskier
-
Um, the altercation happened at our exit where a mass of your fans (pictured above) came seeking a confrontation. Perhaps before you point a finger at us you should explain what the Hudson Fake Fooligans and other Columbus s.g. members were doing en masse, the length of a the field away from where they exit the stadium.
Posted 30 Mar 2009 at 02:18 PM by kick_it_to_me
-
Agreed. This article is ridiculous sensationalism. Stadium security allowed a whack of Columbus idiots to march straight into the area where TFC fans were exiting. Look at the video Mr Stollar, thats the TFC fans exit. Get your facts straight before you start blaming TFC.
WHAT WERE CREW SUPPORTERS DOING EN MASSE IN THE TFC FAN'S EXIT????????Posted 30 Mar 2009 at 03:40 PM by RealGooner
-
There is no TFC fans' exit at Crew Stadium. That area, outside the South end of the field, is where I'd guess 95% percent of fans leaving any Crew Stadium event go through to. To call it the "TFC exit" is simply ludicrous.Quote:Originally Posted by RealGooner
WHAT WERE CREW SUPPORTERS DOING EN MASSE IN THE TFC FAN'S EXIT????????
Posted 30 Mar 2009 at 04:20 PM by Aaron Stollar
-
The only thing that's ludicrous is this blog. It only tells one side of the story and the video itself doesnt even tell you what exactly happened. And to say that tfc fans are practising hooliganism is absolutely rediculous, especially when columbus supporters call themselves the "Hudson Street Hooligans."There were "bad apples" on both sides no doubt about it, but you cannot be putting all the blame on tfc fansQuote:Originally Posted by Aaron Stollar
There is no TFC fans' exit at Crew Stadium. That area, outside the South end of the field, is where I'd guess 95% percent of fans leaving any Crew Stadium event go through to. To call it the "TFC exit" is simply ludicrous.
Posted 30 Mar 2009 at 04:39 PM by adam1001
|
Post a Comment
|
Total Trackbacks 0
