An excellent letter from BST to the Police today makes clear what we think of them, (came in an email).
BST doing what it says on the tin - supporting the supporters! [it's too long for a single post so I'll post the rest in a second post.]
Dear Member
Following on from our match against Preston North End we have communicated with Paul Elliott (Preston Police) with our observations, details provided below:
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Dear Paul
Following your conversation with Christine Seddon on 7th April, we at BST undertook to collate intelligence and other feedback from Blackpool fans about the policing of the game between Preston and Blackpool on 5th April.
This note concentrates mainly on the actual events on the night, albeit with some broader, contextual points which we have included at the end and which BST will follow up separately.
Evidence, and where it came from
We advertised for responses on various social media platforms, and via a newsletter to our members. At the time of writing, we have had dozens of responses, which is something of a commentary in itself.
Those responses made lots of separate points of detail. But the overriding message was that many Blackpool supporters shared experiences that should have no place in football, and were extremely angry with either Lancashire Police, or Preston North End, or both.
There were a number of serious areas of concern, as follows:
Why were Blackpool fans detained in the ground at full time?
Earlier in the season, at meetings following incidents at Bloomfield Road, we were repeatedly told by Lancashire Police that detaining away fans after the game was not an option, because of Human Rights considerations.
It was something of a surprise then, to be told that in this instance fans would be detained - and that Human Rights considerations could be overridden at local discretion in certain circumstances.
We understand that Lancashire Police are trying to take a nuanced position on this issue, but the fine distinctions are lost upon fans who only see that they appear to be being treated differently from everyone else. Whether it is “nuanced” or not, the policy is very unclear, and the way in which Lancashire Police are communicating it falls far short of the standards which we expect.
A small number of our fans reported that some of the officers on the ground seemed unsure of what the overall strategy was in any case. They were also unsure of what to do as events unfolded - and it became clear that the planned approach was not working.
Why were Blackpool fans then kettled outside the ground for a lengthy period?
Blackpool fans would probably have accepted a short delay inside the ground if they had then been allowed to leave the ground quickly, and unmolested.
However, the accounts we have heard from fan after fan show that this is NOT what happened. While they were in the ground waiting to leave, little or no attempt seemed to be made to disperse Preston fans from the adjoining stand or from the concourse area at the far end of the Kop.
This unpleasant experience was made worse when evacuation of the stand began, and fans found themselves kettled in a small area outside the ground. This is perhaps the part of the night that has caused most concern and anger; fans have observed that:
the area in question was unlit, and forced fans into close contact with one another - an experience not helped for those at the rear who were also aggressively herded along by mounted police.
moving away from the stadium was made more difficult by the fact that key exit areas had been blocked by police vehicles, forcing large numbers of people who had no clear idea of where they were supposed to go down narrow channels. Various people have made the point that it would have taken only one person to stumble and fall to create a potential tragedy; many of them wondered why, thirty-three years after Hillsborough, Lancashire Police were intentionally creating a situation such as this
the delay in leaving had NOT led to dispersal of home fans; in fact, there were significant numbers who had remained either in the ground or close by who were at this point allowed to pelt Blackpool supporters with a variety of missiles, including batteries, bricks and wheelie bins, causing injury to a small number of fans
In the pre-brief before the match, Lancashire Police made great play about their plan to create sterile areas around the away turnstiles before the game. Our fans are therefore somewhat perplexed about why no thought seems to have gone into achieving a similar situation AFTER the game, and why, instead of being protected, they were actually forced into a situation whereby they were easy targets.
Why were Preston fans allowed to buy tickets for the Kop?
In our experience, creating sterile or safe areas for visiting fans is far easier to achieve if they are in a stand of their own. This was not the case at this match.
Before the game, in the pre-brief, Blackpool fans expressed concerns about this and the potential for missiles being thrown back and forth. These were dismissed by the police officer in charge of match planning, who told us that he had attempted to throw a coin from one section to the other, and could not do so.
After the pre-briefing, Blackpool FC asked for - and received - extra tickets that meant both sets of supporters were in closer proximity than originally planned.
However, the implications of this do not seem to have been thought through, and as a result many fans had to endure a steady barrage of missiles through the game, you will be aware that one small child sustained a head injury when he was struck by what appeared to be a battery refill.
We would like a specific explanation of ticket selling policy from Preston. There were close to 5,0000 empty seats in the ground on the night, so those Preston fans who were on the Kop could easily have been accommodated elsewhere. The club and police must have known that selling tickets to home fans in that area would potentially cause a flashpoint - but still created the risk anyway. Why?
[TBC]
www.lancs.live
isn’t that your philosophy, too
