St Albans (A) Sat 14th August 2021

[Llamaman]

Any regular football supporter accepts they will hear bad language, be naive not to, but there are limits and context. As for players and staff they are subjected to sanctions for foul and abusive language, yellow cards, red cards and fines. Hearing the odd swear word from on the field isn't that bad, but there are some occasions when players keep up a loud constant barrage of bad language. Obviously people have different views on the use of and what is considered bad language but it's the relentlessness of it at times which I find rather depressing.

[Park Life]

I will post my full comments as soon as i've spell checked them but for gods sake let's get a bit of perspective before we unnecessarily hang our club out to dry.
It's a few young lads getting excited who need a word in the ear and a bit of guidance, imo that's all.

[Lennylenny]

When the ball boy ( who was left unattended on his own ) got a bit of stick ( unwarranted as he’s just a kid) because he was throwing sand at people, I walked him personally to the St Albans board , where a fan followed and gave the kid a fiver and apologised for some of our supporters behaviour , shouting about u will be at school on Monday. I never heard any racism . I heard lots of bad language mainly from me but the board have let the whole club down by thier statement , there was no need for it. Who from St Albans can complain when there wasn’t one steward , one official to hear anything ? Who actually complained? I suspect a few swear words were issued in every ground that had football played this Saturday, ban is all , throw us all out, nuns only permitted, massive own goal Dartford fc

[Lennylenny]

Don’t often agree with u Keabus but spot on, he without din cast the first stone

[Lennylenny]

Sin not din

[Park Life]

Must admit i'm disappointed with the clubs statement and don't think it's the right way to deal with the situation.
Whilst i agree that some of the chanting has not been great we are talking about a group of young lads who have supported the team in good numbers so i feel that we should have a chat with them and give a bit of advice on what as a club we feel is acceptable. Yes they shouldn't have gone over the barrier and there is no excuse for that but it wasn't a mass pitch invasion just a few lads over excited at the dramatic end to the game but the way some are reacting is imo a bit over the top. I did try and speak to a few of them yesterday but with the excitement and the way the game finished emotions were high and i'm not sure my message got through. I will try again next game although it would be better if one of the several club officials who stand amongst us every week had done this or will try in future. Finally i never heard one racist comment all game.

Think the club have unnecessarily shot themselves in the foot with that statement and taken away the gloss of what was a great victory.

[The Don]

Like it or not, going onto the playing area is a criminal offence - Football (Offences) Act 1991. There is a chance the Club will be reported, and chance of a fine.

The language would not be to my taste, and I think we should try to set an example as a community club but others may have a different opinion on that, but going onto the playing area (even in celebration of a goal) is in black and white.

At a designated football match. National South is not covered by this legislation. Premier is but not our league.

[Gary C]

Steve Irving posted something on Facebook earlier in relation to this:

"I'll probably regret getting involved in this debate but I feel the need to say something about yesterday.
Firstly, the support this season at the friendlies and particularly yesterday at St. Albans, has been fantastic.
As a massive community club with a large family fan base and large numbers of women and children in attendance, what we don't want is a barrage of swearing, in particular the use of the C word which has been most prevalent at recent games. We don't want to lose the passion shown but a toning down of the language, to a more acceptable and smarter level.
The bigger problem with yesterday was the number of fans that entered the field of play to celebrate, not just the 3rd goal but also the 2nd. To be clear, this action is illegal and at a better policed ground would result in the expulsion of those involved.
The referee will undoubtedly be recording this in his match report and we will be asked by the FA to provide 'our observations' on the incidents.
This 'could' lead to a fine or potentially other more stringent action.
It wasn't just in the domain of any newer or younger supporters due to the excitement of the fantastic comeback but also an older, more mature and long standing supporter.
None of us want to dampen the spirit of our supporters, we need to build on the supporter base with a new generation of fans and we need passion from our fans because we know what a difference it makes. Just showing due respect to fellow supporters and the laws of the game."

[Gary C]

Like it or not, going onto the playing area is a criminal offence - Football (Offences) Act 1991. There is a chance the Club will be reported, and chance of a fine.

The language would not be to my taste, and I think we should try to set an example as a community club but others may have a different opinion on that, but going onto the playing area (even in celebration of a goal) is in black and white.

At a designated football match. National South is not covered by this legislation. Premier is but not our league.

I don't specifically know the details but when we were promoted out of Conference South in the play-offs back in 2012, a Basingstoke fan was prosecuted for coming onto the pitch in our semi at home with them... just assumed things were the same now as then. Anyway, life is too short to be stuck on here on a Sunday night so I will log out

[The Don]

Gary, wasn't necessarily condoning the behaviour just trying to ensure everybody keeps a level head and nobody gets too carried away with the events yesterday. COYDs