I read this topic with interest and especially the comments from Nibor. If you believe that people accused of being violent and throwing things at football matches are 'scumbags' then I fear you have led a very sheltered life and have no knowledge of what true 'scumbags' really do exist within local society and what they are capable of.
I do not condone any football violence and believe people CONVICTED in a court of law of committing VIOLENT offences at/relating to football games should serve a substantial sentence and ban from football grounds. People celebrating a (rare) victory and running on to the pitch/swearing/taunting opposition fans is not big or clever and frankly pretty pathetic but it should not result in lifetime bans from clubs they have spent thousands of pounds following over the years. If a city fan hits a rovers fan or vice versa they should feel the force of the law, but IMHO this doesn't make them scumbags, idiots maybe, but rarely is violence at football perpetuated against innocent law abiding fans - if a 'firm' wants trouble they will get it, but rarely at the expense of innocent people, in my experience anyway.
With excellent CCTV, Football liaison officers, spotters and intelligence police are very well equipped to deal with any trouble in or around grounds these days. I'm only in my early 30s but remember genuinely scary away days when younger at Swansea, Portsmouth, Plymouth and more where there was genuine, nasty violence that went unpunished. These days football fans are a very easy target and I personally do not believe that the punishment is commensurate with the offence committed.
Football is (was) a working mans game and I think that now more than ever it has become so sanitised that it bears little resemblance to the game I started loving in the late 80s/early 90s and BCFC in particular has lost touch with its core support. I've followed city home and away ever since I could, like many on here, but the game I've enjoyed the most in the past few years was the cup tie at Brislington last week. Chatting to bris fanatics, players, welling players, the bar man, having some banter and a cider without any trouble or the need for any police was a treat, and to be made to feel so welcome to was lovely.I wonder what football will look like in 20 years time.
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