Hooligans ready for big kick-off
Football is bracing itself are there any canada goose outlet stores for its most violent season in years as many of Britain’s worst hooligans lay plans to attack rival gangs.
Police fear there will buy canada goose parka ottawa be regular outbreaks of trouble at or around games in the First Division visit, which kicks off on Saturday and this season will include 10 teams whose followers are notorious for causing mayhem.
Senior officers believe the hostility between hardcore elements attached to clubs such as Cardiff City, Millwall, Stoke City, Nottingham Forest and West Ham United means clashes are inevitable. The Stoke Young Casuals, who bring up to 600 hooligans to some matches, have already laid plans to confront West Ham and Sunderland supporters, for example. buy canada goose coat uk
Football intelligence specialists in police forces across the country say the inclusion in the First Division this season of promoted Cardiff City and relegated West Ham will reopen some bitter rivalries. Both have canada goose coat 1000 bulbs garland large travelling supports which contain known troublemakers.
‘Many matches in the First Division will be a real handful this best canada goose jacket best canada goose coat for skiing for women season because you’ve got such a volatile mixture of clubs in there now,’ said one experienced anti-hooligan officer. ‘Many of the teams’ hooligans really dislike each other. For instance, Millwall and Nottingham Forest fans have a real history of mutual loathing, even though they’re not close geographical rivals.’
Clubs and police forces are already putting in buy a canada goose jacket place measures to try to prevent trouble. The long history of enmity between West Ham and Millwall means the first meeting of the two London clubs next month has black canada goose parka been moved from a Saturday 3pm kick-off to a Sunday and given a noon start on police advice.
Likewise, Watford have rescheduled the visit of Cardiff City from a Saturday to a Sunday at 1pm. ‘We’ve asked for the kick-off to be brought forward to reduce the risk of alcohol-related disorder,’ said Chief Inspector Glyn Evans of Hertfordshire Police.
Cardiff’s fans are near the top of the league for arrests and banning orders. But hooliganism declined last year after the club took steps to curb trouble, including a ticket registration scheme in which only members can attend away games.
For high-risk away games, such as Stoke City or Bristol City, Cardiff followers are put on special coaches and taken straight to the stadium, often under police escort.
Stoke operate a similar scheme, while Millwall last season banned away fans from coming to fixtures with the greatest best canada goose jacket review risk of trouble.
Figures to be released by the Home Office later this month are expected to show the number of football-related arrests rising after 10 years of decline.
Police say this is partly because they now take a more proactive approach to the problem. Almost 1,800 thugs have been given banning orders preventing them going to best place to buy a canada goose jacket matches, a figure which is set to rise when policing Minister Hazel Blears announces an extra £5 million for police forces to boost their anti-hooligan operations.