smoke bomb

[+DoofersDad]

Leaving aside the politics of what harm this might or might not do in terms of relationships and discussions with the authorities - a subject I do not feel I can comment on, although clearly it is not going to help - I wonder just what the point of doing this was?  If the person who threw it thinks of themselves as a supporter of the club I wonder how he (or she) thinks their actions demonstrated support to the club?  I can think of none. 

 

The potential harm had the flare fallen short and landed in the crowd is obvious.  And the risk to the person who threw it of being identified, prosecuted and banned from future games is also obvious.  Utterly, utterly stupid.

[clacher_holiday2]

As I mentioned earlier, how many Celtic fans will be arrested for singing offensive songs, standing or being drunk in the stadium in a few weeks time?

 

CJT could raise that with the police.

[Joe DiMaggio]

 

 

People do get in trouble for these things, do CJT really want to be seen as representing them?

 

That just shows it is a police matter and that CJT should not interfere in something that has nothing to do with them.

[bigjohn]

To all you doubters and people who think i'm overreacting to the fact nobody got killed, turn ur back on somebody who's standing about 35 mtrs from you and get them to throw an unopened can of coke or something at you.If that hits you on the head its going to be very serious indeed or worse. I wonder how you'd all react if a member of your family, especially a kid, was in a similar situation and got hit with something similar in size or weight to that smoke bomb. Don't think you would be on here defending them.

[GATEPOST]

I live in Edinburgh so have lots of Jambo mates who were at the game so spoke with them afterwards.

 

Not one person mentioned the flare. In fact I, and probably everyone else, forgot it happened until I saw this thread.

 

No one was injured, nor were they going to be.

 

No one remotely cares other than a few folk on here looking to be offended.

 

It doesn't reflect anything on us or our club in any way.

 

Try and enjoy life a bit more.

 

Thanks.

[dead_ball_specialist]

Obviously the smoke must have obscured Billy McKays view when he missed those 2 sitters.

[bdu98196]

Did the police act at the time, I never saw them enter the crowd - they have cameras at the game on the crowd and could have reviewed the footage and apprehended the culprit there and then, its not like there weren't enough cops and stewards around the ICT end.

I do not condone the throwing of any objetcs, be it flares, bog roll or other items, but unless the ref puts it in his report I dont think the authorities would take action? He never did anything about the Ngoo elbow assaults during teh game so i doubt a flare will get mentioned!!!

[CaleyD]

Clacher, let me make it clear....CJT, nor any of those who will be meeting with the police, believe that these incidents should be "connected" in terms of how they are dealt with or discussed.  However, we will have to deal with and be able to defend ourselves on a stance that ICT fans pose little or no risk to the safety of others or are likely to cause a situation which could lead to unrest...and any/all incidents can, in the view of the authorities (whether we agree with it or not), fall into that category.

 

Certain events fell in the club, and persons, favour with regards the smoke bomb that was thrown at Ross County which made it hard to identify the individual and the club got away without sanction because we have such a good record and it was felt that this was likely to have been a one off.  The individual does not have to be identified in order for the club to face sanctions, so it could still have happened.  What did happen though, and you can call it over zealous if you wish....I agree...but things like bag searches and crowd surveillance were stepped up.  CJT have been monitoring that situation, but our hope was that with no repeat incidents it would be short lived and everything would go back to normal fairly quickly.  Not spoken to the whole CJT board, but my own personal opinion is that bag searches etc will now continue longer and we have a weakened case to complain about it.  On the subject of the smoke bomb, warnings as to the possible consequences after the last one have been ignored and the likelihood of the club being sanctioned are high.

 

In regards to the singing/chanting of "traveller" related words/terms.  We have taken advice from several people (legal and otherwise) on the matter and go in to that meeting highly confident that we can clear the matter up and put it to bed once and for all.  In fact, legislation stands in our favour and we are not fighting the legislation, but the application of the legislation.  No such position exists for us to defend fans in regards to throwing items on to the field of play (smoke bombs or otherwise)...and to be honest, I wouldn't personally seek to try and defend such actions...and find it a little strange that others on here think it's a matter that should just be ignored!!!

 

CJT are working hard with the club to find ways to remove the things that fans perceive/believe are spoiling the matchday experience and stuff like this badly hinders that process.  We're happy to be doing these things...it's a large part of why we exist...but the fans also need to realise they have a part to play in helping themselves, us and the club.

 

After the first smoke bomb my thoughts were that I hoped the person didn't get caught and that would be the end of it....a one off silly moment, lessons learned, warnings heeded and we move on.  After the one yesterday I find myself hoping that they are caught because these things harm everyone.  We've got fans telling us they will not tolerate any more pocket/bag searches or being actively filmed at matches and would rather just not come.

 

Some people might want to call that an overreaction, personally I see it as wanting to nip an issue in the bud before it gets out of hand.

[clacher_holiday2]

Well I've linked two incidents of people having smoke bombs in UK stadiums, the first one being in Scotland.

 

So if whoever did it didn't know already, could somebody tell them that that could be facing a 7 year ban from football plus a 6 month sentence.

 

I don't think the incident should be ignored but I do think it isn't an issue for CJT to deal with. At least its good to hear you say that its not going to be lumped in with the discussion about offensive singing. You throw enough of these provocative footballing terms together and eventually the police are dealing with a massive problem that doesn't exist.

 

RACIST SINGING, SMOKE BOMBS, MISSILES, HOOLIGANISM, INVASIONS, DRINKING and god knows what else, they've all been mentioned at one time or another on here, theres no need to make the job of turning the few fans we have left away any easier.

Edited January 27, 2013 by clacher_holiday2

[Div1309]

What gain did the person who threw it have? If anything they disrupted not only hearts but also "their" team (using brackets as they clearly don't care about the club).

You could see the players getting agitated at coming out and having to wait 5mins to get started.

Really hope the person gets caught and isn't allowed back to an ICT game as they are tarring our brilliant support with a bad name. All for creating atmosphere but throwing flares, what is the point???

[clacher_holiday2]

CaleyD,

 

Has CJT ever raised the issue of away fans standing in the stadium? 

 

How about songs we find offensive?

 

Do the police have a better answer than we don't treat them as harshly as home fans because we're scared of them.

[Philip]

Being completely honest I had also forgotten this even took place until I saw this thread.

I work with Pyrotechnics on a regular basis and from what I saw of the thing that landed by the pitch it looked like a very small commercial type almost certainly not metallic and would probably weigh around about the same as an orange.

It's not unusual to see the deployment of coloured smoke at games in the UK although obviously not to the extent as on the continent but generally it is within the stand rather than lobbed onto the field of play.

Personally I'm rather blasé about it, it neither improved not detracted from my day out as i forgot all about it with the events that followed however it is causing the small group of fans we do have to bicker amongst ourselves which we can hardly afford.

[ammac]

It would be okay if who ever had the smoke bomb was big enough to walk down the front and let it off. But they don't. They push into apart of the ground far away from were their ticket is thus trying to casting suspicion on someone else. Remember that could be you! It was more that obvious yesterday that "some people" were not sitting in their own seats. They simple headed to the back of the lower teir. I personally had to tell two idiots to move at half time when I came back from the toilet. They simple push their way down a couple of rows and forced a elderly couple out of their seats. These people are cowards and bullies. If this is the new type of supporters we want at games to boost numbers I would rather stay at home.

[Joe DiMaggio]

What gain did the person who threw it have? If anything they disrupted not only hearts but also "their" team (using brackets as they clearly don't care about the club).

You could see the players getting agitated at coming out and having to wait 5mins to get started.

Really hope the person gets caught and isn't allowed back to an ICT game as they are tarring our brilliant support with a bad name. All for creating atmosphere but throwing flares, what is the point???

 

Who are they tarnishing our support with a bad name to? No one seems to care other than a handful of our own support.

[Joe DiMaggio]

It would be okay if who ever had the smoke bomb was big enough to walk down the front and let it off. But they don't. They push into apart of the ground far away from were their ticket is thus trying to casting suspicion on someone else. Remember that could be you! It was more that obvious yesterday that "some people" were not sitting in their own seats. They simple headed to the back of the lower teir. I personally had to tell two idiots to move at half time when I came back from the toilet. They simple push their way down a couple of rows and forced a elderly couple out of their seats. These people are cowards and bullies. If this is the new type of supporters we want at games to boost numbers I would rather stay at home.

With that attitude please do stay at home!

If someone is in your seat then ask them to move. Cowards and bullies though, get a grip.

[CaleyD]

CaleyD,

 

Has CJT ever raised the issue of away fans standing in the stadium? 

 

How about songs we find offensive?

 

Do the police have a better answer than we don't treat them as harshly as home fans because we're scared of them.

 

The overall subject of fans being dealt with the same at either end of the stadium has been an ongoing topic of discussion for a long while...although surprisingly(?) it's not one that's raised it's head this season to my knowledge!!!

 

It's an argument we will never win, IMO, and nor should we be tackling it in that manner.

 

What sometimes comes from visiting fans does not fall into the same category as what sometimes comes from our fans and we would rather not compare them as being on any kind of equal standing.  We are not making a case that the legislation is wrong or that racist/sectarian chanting is acceptable.  We are making a case that what is sung/chanted by our fans does not fall within the legislation, is nothing more than banter and that our fans are being wrongly chastised and labelled.

[old caley girl]

Slightly off topic but leading on from what Anniemac posted. We're the tickets checked on entry that they were all for the lower tier? Couldn't see many empty seats at all but plenty rows mine included were overcrowded. Folk coming in at 3 o'clock were being told by stewards just to find a seat any seat and sit down.

I for one don't want to see increased bag checks filming etc so would rather we didn't draw attention to our support with smoke bombs.

I continue to despair of the no standing rule. If the club had been allowed to sell a standing section yesterday there wouldn't have been petty arguments yesterday about seating, standing, sitting etc but I know this was unavoidable.

Edited January 27, 2013 by old caley girl

[+Wanderer]

I continue to despair of the no standing rule.

 

Being able to, finally, stand at an SPL ground yesterday was one of the day's highlights. Well done to whoever it was who turned a blind eye.

 

Football attendances would multiply 100-fold* if this was the general policy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*I'm exaggerating for effect

[old caley girl]

I continue to despair of the no standing rule.

Being able to, finally, stand at an SPL ground yesterday was one of the day's highlights. Well done to whoever it was who turned a blind eye.

Football attendances would multiply 100-fold* if this was the general policy.

*I'm exaggerating for effect

Edited January 27, 2013 by old caley girl

[CaleyD]

I continue to despair of the no standing rule.

 

Being able to, finally, stand at an SPL ground yesterday was one of the day's highlights. Well done to whoever it was who turned a blind eye.

 

Football attendances would multiply 100-fold* if this was the general policy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*I'm exaggerating for effect

 

Wasn't an SPL match so the "you must sit" rule does not apply.

[old caley girl]

Try telling all the folk beside and behind me that!!

[+Wanderer]

 

I continue to despair of the no standing rule.

 

Being able to, finally, stand at an SPL ground yesterday was one of the day's highlights. Well done to whoever it was who turned a blind eye.

 

Football attendances would multiply 100-fold* if this was the general policy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*I'm exaggerating for effect

 

Wasn't an SPL match so the "you must sit" rule does not apply.

 

Have to say I wasn't aware of that. Maybe my football outings from now on will be restricted to cup matches.

 

So nobody can stop me standing at Killie on Saturday? This season just gets better and better!

[Lmclmm]

This was childish n pathetic. They should b banned from games. How did they not get that taken off them. It stops game play for a while. Hate it.

[Alex MacLeod]

This was childish n pathetic. They should b banned from games. How did they not get that taken off them. It stops game play for a while. Hate it.

Cos they probably didn't get searched. I said my piece on this subject the first time it happened and I stand by that. First off the police will get the person responsible this time. Aside from the cctv installed at ER the police were carrying hand held camera's and filming at random. I witnessed them twice film stewards manhandling fans. The ICT fan who ran onto the pitch when we scored and the Hearts fan who attempted to do the same. A police officer stood and filmed both those incidents.

 

To those who see it as a bit of fun can I just re-iterate what I said after County. This world is a difficult one for many people. Not enough work to go around and entrance requirements to even get to interview stage being so high that many things are taken into account. It is against the law to use such implements in a sporting arena in this country. It doesn't matter if they weigh an ounce or weigh a ton. They can cause harm if directed in the wrong way and they can injure. These smoke bombs are a smaller version to the ones used in the marine industry. They dont generate heat but they work on a reaction of chemicals that are harmful. Health and Safety of the public is the main reason there are controls on such devices, hence the law against improper use. You get caught you get a criminal record and your future is up in smoke.

[GATEPOST]

This was childish n pathetic. They should b banned from games. How did they not get that taken off them. It stops game play for a while. Hate it.

 

I could easily chose to hate your childish and pathetic attempt at English grammar, but as it is of no great importance or consequence, and caused no harm (much like the smoke bomb), I will instead forget all about it and continue happily with my life.

 

I suggest you try and do likewise.