The semi final of the Africa Cup marred by the rioting of Guinea home fans (Ghana won and go to the final against Ivory Coast). This is a bad sign. Morocco pulled out of hosting the event due to Ebola worries (another indication that media coverage trumps reality every time). I was in Marrakech again for the Fifa Club World Cup in December - Real Madrid versus San Lorenzo of Argentina. The San Lorenzo team were in my hotel. The Pope is their highest profile fan!

Football, like most other sports, has never attracted violence except in the UK and from UK fans - a tiny minority. It's always been a pleasure going to overseas games, safe and trouble free. I remember attending the England-Tunisian game of the World Cup in Marseille in the 90s as guest of Tunisia and witnessing no trouble at all except, after the game, seeing a UK camera crew organising a mock fight between fans - which ran on the news as proof of violence!

Football violence is not exclusive to the UK. Italy, Spain, Russia pretty much most of Eastern Europe have been getting up to mischief since the 80s.

one of the nicest things about Oz is the complete & total lack of violence amongst fans of all sporting games including football.

If anything you see huge groups of rival fans laughing and joking together.

Angel wrote:
Football violence is not exclusive to the UK. Italy, Spain, Russia pretty much most of Eastern Europe have been getting up to mischief since the 80s.

25 DEAD at football match in Egypt

news.sky.com/story/1423797/egypt-25-kill...efore-football-match

Angel wrote:
Football violence is not exclusive to the UK. Italy, Spain, Russia pretty much most of Eastern Europe have been getting up to mischief since the 80s.

25 Dead in Egypt football match -

"Zamalek fans, known as White Knights, posted on their group's official Facebook page that the violence started because the authorities only opened one narrow, barbed-wire door to let them in.

They said this sparked pushing and shoving - news.sky.com/story/1423797/egypt-25-kill...efore-football-match

... all sounds very reminiscent of Hillsborough ?

In The Know (as always) wrote:
... all sounds very reminiscent of Hillsborough ?


There are few similarities with Hillsborough.

Since 2012, when over 70 fans were killed at a match in Port Said, Egyptian football games were not open to the public; this one was - with the crowd limited to 10,000.

As a result, tickets were scarce - and the Cairo deaths and injuries were caused by fans trying to gain entry without tickets. In Hillsborough, tickets were not an issue.

What is very surprising is that the game was played - after these shocking events!

hedda wrote:
one of the nicest things about Oz is the complete & total lack of violence amongst fans of all sporting games including football.

If anything you see huge groups of rival fans laughing and joking together.

Just waiting for the smug bastards to get knocked out of World Cup but then again they will win the Ashes.

JK2006 wrote:
The semi final of the Africa Cup marred by the rioting of Guinea home fans (Ghana won and go to the final against Ivory Coast). This is a bad sign. Morocco pulled out of hosting the event due to Ebola worries (another indication that media coverage trumps reality every time). I was in Marrakech again for the Fifa Club World Cup in December - Real Madrid versus San Lorenzo of Argentina. The San Lorenzo team were in my hotel. The Pope is their highest profile fan!

Football, like most other sports, has never attracted violence except in the UK and from UK fans - a tiny minority. It's always been a pleasure going to overseas games, safe and trouble free. I remember attending the England-Tunisian game of the World Cup in Marseille in the 90s as guest of Tunisia and witnessing no trouble at all except, after the game, seeing a UK camera crew organising a mock fight between fans - which ran on the news as proof of violence!

The ACON should be scrapped it's a corrupt competition and Mr Blatter is the one who benefits from it.