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There's possibly only one thing that saddens me more than the anti-social behaviour in question and that is the apologists who seem to be queueing up in support of a bunch of troublemakers who have been creating well documented problems for a considerable period of time. My main regret here is that there wasn't a more pre-emptive strike on this months ago. For goodness sake, these wee neds have been a thorn in the flesh of this club for long enough in addition to causing offence under the law of the land and that of the football governing bodies. The law has been broken, other supporters' match day experience has been repeatedly spoiled and, especially during the lengthy period of inaction, Inverness Caledonian Thistle has had a bad reputation for anti-social supporter behaviour forced upon it. This problem needed sorted and now some action has at last been taken. Defending these people on the grounds that they make some kind of virtuous noise is absurd. Football is a sport and not a dustbin for social malaise. Meanwhile the irony of the whingeing we are now reading about club statements is palpable. Complaints about lack of communication and board inactivity have been loud and long. However the response of some to the far more proactive and forthcoming board policy seen of late appears to be to complain about that as well.

Grow up and accept that we have responsibility. Brechin are a decent, hospitable community club and it's entirely proper that they should not be out of pocket through the actions of a few irresponsible idiots from our fan base. It's not a hanging offence and we all did stupid things when we were young but it's time to accept responsibility and move on.

It's a green dot from me PF. I don't know why others are taking issue with this post. This is a perfectly reasonable point to make and earlier in this discussion I also made the point that one can't be too hard on the youngsters when they get set such a bad example from the foul language of people very much older than they are. The club can't have it both ways. It can't tell the youngsters that unless they moderate their language they will be banned, and then completely ignore the foul mouthed abuse that some of our older supporters dish out. Whilst I certainly support the banning of those letting off smoke bombs and causing criminal damage, I don't think the statement is very clever in it's general tone. There really needs to be more words of encouragement to what I am sure is the vast majority of youngsters who go to games to support the team and have a bit of fun and who, from time to time, may overstep the boundaries when egged on by the small minority who want to cause trouble for some reason. It reads like a statement written by someone who has never done anything naughtier than running through a field of wheat. These lads need to be told their vocal support is greatly valued by the club but for the sake of the club and for their own sakes, that enthusiastic vocal support must be kept within the boundaries of the law. To me, the statement read as though those youngsters who have not been banned will be tolerated and a close eye will be kept on them. Hopefully the youngsters will have enough sense to appreciate that they come along to support the team and not the Board.

I think the bans are in response to behaviour not swearing although I conceed statement does not make that clear. I think there were x 3 episodes of smoke bombs? One of the young female stewards was also subjected to verbal abuse. I understand there is cctv evidence of what happened. I dont care if we are being ridiculed really. Im glad the club have taken action against vandalism smoke bombs etc

The club received an official 'unacceptable conduct' letter from the SFA - doing nothing wasn't an option....we would be berating the board for sticking their heads in the sand if they'd not taken any action. Personally, I don't have a problem with what the club have done, they didn't have much choice in the matter

Quite simple really, the law and match conditions clearly state no pyrotechnics. Any ground in the country. Therefore if people choose to use them at grounds then they should accept the consequences of breaking the conditions (and henceforth the contract accepted on purchase) such as being ejected or banned. It's their call. Don't do the crime if you can't take the time. It's the same as sneaking substances into festivals. Feel free to try but if you get caught it's no one's fault but yours. According to the most recent statement on the official site, damage was caused to the ground for which Brechin have billed our club. If you're doing that, then you're a walloper and good riddance. You're giving the other fans a bad name. You're giving fellow "young team" and "ultras" a bad name. Those that know the difference between fun and vandalism. Atmosphere and loutish. You're not a "lad", you're a goat. As to drums and singing and banners and flags, the more the merrier. The more noise the better. Pyro has never been needed to create atmosphere in grounds in the UK before so, unless you're just crap at the aforementioned, it's not required now. Get behind the team, make all the noise, be creative, come up with songs and drum beats and chants. And icelandic style claps or Highland war cries. But follow the fairly reasonable rules and you'll not get bother. And if stewarts at away grounds ask you to stop, ignoring them or arguing won't work. Wish it would sometimes... And as for Rangers and Celtic fans getting away with murder. It's not about them, it's about us.

Absolute nonsense. I have seen people in the main stand spoken to by stewards and police (admittedly for some pretty excessive language) but much harder to crack down on an individual than a group of fans. As far as I can see, no prejudice against young fans per se by the club, if these morons had not acted in the way they did at Brechin, the club would not need to issue a statement at all. As some other posters have said, this has been coming as the behaviour of some of our younger fans after some home games last season was pretty bad. Whether these are the same fans who were at Brechin or the Ultras, I have no idea. Don't some of those fans such as Moray Jaggie think that the behaviour of these fans may also be keeping some fans from attending games because of their behaviour. Sadly it seems these days that many people think they have a right to do anything they want but are not willing to accept any responsibility for their actions.

The 'few' left the club with no alternative but to react. If there is fault at all, it's the failure to deal with this ongoing issue earlier.

Noone - not even stewards go to work to have to put up with verbal abuse but the line has to be drawn at pushing them around - that lassie should maybe have been swapped with another steward but noone has the right to lay a hand on them... And yes I was at the match and yes I saw that first hand..

That Dundalk one is probably the best for me. Clear and concise. Until some responsibility is taken for the OTT behaviour then the club arranging a fans meeting would be pointless though.

They are awful, awful that they have to be made due to the criminal behaviour of these 'supporters'. I would hope that these consequences will make it clear to others that may have thought about such behaviour that it will not be tolerated, prevents it happening again and so helps improve the atmosphere.

Couldn't have put that better myself - genuine fans, please...Neds, stay away...

Club crest on his training top is different to the one he is holding up .... bit of an an identity crisis going on there. Time to consign this Pride of the Highlands badge nonsense to the dustbin it's just another terrible reminder of a truly terrible season. Should have been shown the door with ex-manager and ex Chairman.

No. It's a bad sign. The faffing about at the back in the Hughes era was tactical faffing about. It was part of his master plan to keep possession regardless of which direction the ball travelled in. The current faffing about is because defenders are making mistakes.

Yes, I also understood it.

^^^^^^^^^ Thinks F-Bomb is exactly the same as a Smoke Bomb.

There is no finer endorsement of what you do, especially in the area of supporter behaviour, than to have it criticised by those with an interest in the Old Firm Confirmation, if any was needed, that what the board have done is the correct course of action against these undesirables. As the Lord High Executioner said: "They will none of them be missed."

I'm not a fan of the 'pride of the highlands' badge either, but can't say it keeps me awake at night.... If the Chairman is open to dialogue (& he seems to be), worth bringing up, as I don't think anybody likes the badge!

Once they behaved the way they did they were always on a hiding to nothing. Once the SFA got involved the club had no where to go other than do what they have done to avoid a big fine. Brechin may well have jumpred on the band wagon but there is no defence for the behaviour. They left themselves open and will have to live with the consequences. Hopefully they will learn from it and move on - or alternatively take it over the bridge where I am sure Cunty will be only to pleased to welcome them in lol

In fairness, would agree with the hope that a heartfelt apology would go a long way to making the ban temporary (although I think, if I've read the club statement correctly, it only applies this season).. Think they'd have to offer to make some sort of concrete attempt at remorse (such as paying for the damage caused).

Maybe, but don't think the club had much choice really - when they are being invoiced by other football clubs & bus companies for damage caused, don't think they can argue with a ban - they could have been charged.

Surely this sort of faffing around at the back was quite prevalent in the Hughes era...is that a good sign?

Who will be running to the shops to buy dozens of packets in the hope of getting the badge ??

.......except where they are supposed to come from!

Got a few years to go yet. Cheeky young whippersnapper. Away and let off some flares.

Isn't he a Canadian? If so then his timepiece is 8 hours behind yours and that can explain it I'm sure. If not, then ask IHE--he operates on MOOSE time....

I don't get to that many matches these days, especially 'home' matches. But the few times I've been, I have seen these youngsters in action, and yes, they do provide a bit of atmosphere. But, like for anyone else, there are rules to be obeyed, and when they infringe them, especially when safety of fellow supporters could be compromised, then they have to be taken to task. If they are not able to admit that sometimes they overstep the mark, then clearly they have a lot of growing up to do. So, if they now choose to take the huff and stay away, that is their choice, and I dare say there are quite a few supporters who will not miss them.

So sad that these small boys want to be big boys so soon. No doubt those responsible have already been identified and will be 'spoken to'. As for the Ul17 statement it only highlights to me the childishness that is within their ranks. I'm all for them making a noise and trying to create an atmosphere but they must tow the line and fall in with all those that know how to behave.

Just wanted to echo what others have said before regarding this NOT being just about the smoke bomb/flares/whatever the heck they are. I commented after a game recently how the result was spoilt by the behaviour of some of these guys after the game, where some of them were running along outside the stadium afterwards singing the sort of nonsense that's nothing to do with our club but everything to do with the old firm, and then going on to intimidate our own fans on the walk into town afterwards. This goes back a good few seasons, and I've got friends who'll never go on a bus to an away game again due to the way they behaved towards them. I'm not interested in the argument that oh it's only smoke bombs/oh it's only a small group/och they are just young boys - it's wrong, it's against regulations, it's offending other fans and I couldn't care less whether it's accepted at other clubs or not, it's neither welcome or accepted at our club. What's almost laughable is that I know that the club were intending to engage with these guys and discuss how they could work together to enhance the atmosphere. That ship has now firmly sailed.

Rather than Manning up and going "Sorry guys, we f**ked up" They've just gave the club the middle finger instead. If they were proper supporters of the club then they'd either issue a statement of apology if any of their members were responsible or at least say they'd offer to assist the club in helping to try and find those responsible. I could be very wrong here and apologise if i am. But from this statement it does kind of sound like some of the guilty parties maybe within the leadership of the group. Respect must be earned, not just given. These boys must learn that, as from the wording of this statement they don't respect other supporters, the club or its good name which because of them is being dragged through the mud. If this is the case then good riddance, go support a club which will condone this behaviour, either of the ugly sisters come to mind. As has been mentioned on this thread and a few others. We all want a bit more atmosphere at the games and generally these guys do try to inject that into the north stand. and then go an ruin it by setting off smoke bombs and chucking them onto the pitch because they've had a whiff of a pint and think they're the big man in front of their pals. When actually its quite selfish, they don't know exactly how many people in the stands have asthma or other respiratory conditions that these could aggravate. Plus as has been said many a time, setting smoke bombs and flares off at a match is actually illegal and these idiots are lucky they just get chucked out the stadium and not into a cell for the night or weekend or have the police waiting for them to do the same when the bus dropped them off after the criminal damage that was caused Unfortunately I can't ever see this problem stopping. Unless because of a few idiots and not just those ones "claiming" to support our great club. They decide to do a stop and search of everyone entering the stadium regardless of if they have a bag or not and if found to be carrying such items are then refused entry even if they've just bought a ticket or are a ST holder. Then imagine how long those queues would be, plus the extra expense to the club of having to take on more stewards to deal with this. That wouldn't improve anyone's matchday experience. In fact may actually drive already low attendance figures down even more. Just because a few wee idiots within their ranks think its "enhances" the atmosphere. Just singing, banging the drum and generally cheering the players on will do it, and if they behave they may find their numbers may rise with both younger and older fans.

I had been trying to figure out how to voice my opinion on this one until Doofers Dad came along and basically said almost exactly what I was thinking. Enjoyment is fine, but like it or not, some things are against the law at a football match and flares and smoke bombs fall under that category. (covered under s. 20 of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995) : reference material - http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/06/7094/7 / http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0052/00520637.pdf From the club perspective, how should they have handled it? Brechin complained to them, the police complained to them, some supporters complained to them, and the match observer reported the issue to the SPFL who have issued the club with an "unacceptable conduct" letter. We don't know the contents of that letter but it cant be good. These things never are. At best the club will get censured and told to make sure it doesn't happen again, but as it has already happened several times in the last couple of seasons then its far more likely to end up with the club getting a fine of some sort which will probably run into a few thousand £££s .... money that could easily be best spent somewhere else. D&E coaches are likely none too pleased either and that's another potential problem for the supporters/travel club in future. I agree that we want the supporters to be encouraged to make noise and atmosphere, regardless of age, although it has to be said the young crew have way more energy than us old farts do so it does fall on them to gee us all up ... but FFS you can do that without breaking the law. The law may be an ass, and personally I have a fundamental problem with the concept and draconian application of Football Banning Orders (https://www.mygov.scot/football-banning-orders/) but it IS the law and the authorities or those in charge will come down on those who choose to break it. Totally agree that the stewards can and will over-react, and that the direction of the over-reaction will often be the young supporters. Apart from anything else, the young supporters of a team like us, with a smaller support, are just like 'prey' in the animal kingdom ... seen as the easiest pickings. Its not right, but its how the world works. I have posted a few times about the dead atmosphere at the TCS on my last few trips back when compared to the football I watch every week here in Toronto, or even to the football I used to watch at the TCS every home game when i still lived in Inverness. It is really sad to see all the enjoyment being sucked out of football in the UK and its not just at ICT, its all around. We should encourage supporters to enjoy the game and create atmosphere but it has to be done safely. smoke and especially flares are not safe. The simple fact is that the authorities have the upper hand here. Get convicted of a football related offence and you can be banned for up to 10 years. Get a criminal conviction and it can follow you for the rest of your life .... Its a bit of a tangent, but did you know that something as simple as an impaired driving conviction makes you inadmissible to even enter Canada as a visitor (assuming you declare it on your landing form or they check !!!). Simple solution is to try and work with the club and/or other bodies to change the rules relating to smoke. It took a long time but they eventually relented on the safe standing issue, flags, smoke and other things could be something that could be negotiated in future perhaps. Again I go back to a Toronto example (sorry, its all I have on a weekly basis) .... there are a bunch of different supporters groups at TFC. One of those groups was called "North End Elite" who styled themselves in the Ultra culture and did not follow rules, especially as it related to smoke and flares. You can google them and read more but the bottom line is that they no longer exist under that name and quite a few of their number have lifetime bans from TFC as well as criminal convictions. The other supporters groups complained just as loudly that they wanted smoke or some form of pyro and it took several years but now its allowed ... there's a set of guidelines to follow and safety training and procedures to follow, but its allowed and it does add to the atmosphere.There are a good few folk on here who have visited Canada and come to games with me at some point who have experienced this atmosphere. Sometimes you have to work within the system and bend the rules or push the envelope a little to get them to change ... defiantly breaking them will not make that happen and if the group that condones it or does nothing about it doesn't 'self-police' to eradicate that behaviour then there is only ever going to be one winner and its not going to be the supporters !

The simple fact, overlooked by those saying this is an overreaction by the club, is that the SPFL have already contacted the club on this issue so they obviously saw something wrong at the game. Leaving aside the irony of why the SPFL don't contact Rangers and Celtic, as far as I know on behaviour issues, this could have serious consequences for the club. This is why they have to act. We do have a problem with some young fans which I have experienced myself having been verbally abused and threatened when I told them to stop behaving like idiots when they were hell bent on challenging away fans to a fight last season. The sooner everyone acknowledges the fact we do have an issue, the sooner we can resolve the matter. The statement from UL17 is simply puerile rubbish and indicative of the attitude of many young people (sadly) today where any criticism is deemed unacceptable.

I hereby confirm that, for the first time ever, I have given Dougal a "green dot"?

Petulant and immature. Grow up children and continue to do what you do best by supporting the club loudly and enthusiastically but when you have overstepped the mark as some of you did on Saturday for goodness sake learn the lesson and don't give the likes of CB and others the opportunity to ridicule you. You can do much better than that and have done in the past.

The young guys in the north stand do their best to create an atmosphere which is great. They then spoil themselves by getting involved with flares. Keep the drums going lads it does create atmosphere but stick to the rules no flares it has the reverse effect and spoils our reputation

Because PumpFake has completely misunderstood, as it appears have you, the point made in the statement.

A statement that had to be made but yet again the content and the tone of it is appalling. The continual use of quotation marks around certain words in the statement like "ultras" and "supporters" make it look like nothing more than a cheap shot at a group of supporters in an effort to belittle them. It's totally condescending and will only succeed in driving them way from the club completely. You can disagree with how some of these young lads support the team, and I am not condoning what is alleged to have taken place, but to issue a statement like that does the club no favours at all and makes them look like the are looking down on these lads and that is absolutely pathetic.

Yngwie - the cordoned off sections were evident at both matches and had no relationship or proximity to the "incidents". Moray Jaggie is absolutely correct that there were damaged seats all over the stand nowhere near where the incidents took place. I personally had to move seats at both games due to the state of the seating. Like Chris a little bit of me dies every time the club issues a statement these days - needless, knee jerk and utterly depressing. However, these statements pale into insignificance when compared with the absolute state of our hand wringing/bed wetting contingent, falling over themselves to berate the youngsters or anyone who tries to add a bit of context to events that have been blown out of all proportion by the club, media et al . The board's time would be better spent investigating how we've found ourselves post-window with a plethora of defenders who can't defend and strikers who couldn't hit a coo's arse with a banjo.

These statements are absolutely awful. Just utterly dreadful. Your heart sinks when you see them come up.

I'm not referring to the behaviour with this post. The area is at in last Saturday was the opposite side of the stand to where the young lads were and there were several broken seats in this section in fact there were broken seats throughout the whole stand are brechin charging us for all of them. My other point is there were no warnings or cordoned off seats or any stewards or club officials directing fans away from thsee broken seats. So surely brechin must be held account for allowing paying fans into a facility that isn't safe. It can't be one rule for one and one for another. As others have said they want a safe match day experience Brechin failed to provide this last Saturday.

No, no, no! Bloody Pride of the Highlands again............

Putting anything in inverted commas in an official statement is an embarrassment, it reads like a church parish newsletter. Just idiotic. if the club are reading this, instead of putting a statement out for whatever no-mark occurrence has happened just mash your hand on the keyboard and hit 'send'. it can't be any worse.