Fan Arrested Life Ban

[Bristol Boy]

On the face of it, this chap-I don't know if he's a regular supporter or not-is getting the punishment he deserves.

On the other hand and after some consderation, I'm not actually sure it's fair and the punishment fits the crime.

For example:

When Cantona jumped into the crowd and Kung Fu kicked the chap at Palace, was he banned for life?

When Paul Davies of Arsenal clumped Glenn Cockerill of Soton off the ball, was he banned for life or the Barrow lad who smacked Rigg?

Was Rio Ferdinand banned for life for failing to turn up for a drugs test?

This chaps so called swing at Bradley Orr, I'm told, missed by about four feet and his shouting and bawling probably was no worst than that expereinced by the players home and away week in week out-I'm not saying that it's right merely mentioning the fact and that fans who do it aren't life banned or even spoken to on 99% of occassions.

Didn't some Rovers fans get on the pitch and assualt/confront the Stoke keeper a while back and get three year bans and weren't City fans allowed back in after a few years when they invaded the field against the Gas that year?

I'm not justifiing what he did, however, it does seem a bit of a long sentence for something that was actually a pretty insignificant occurence and consistency seems not to apply evenly, if at all.

I'm not saying he shouldn't be banned-But Life :noexpression:

[Tipps]

Didn't some Rovers fans get on the pitch and assualt/confront the Stoke keeper a while back and get three year bans and weren't City fans allowed back in after a few years when they invaded the field against the Gas that year?

As regards the City fans that got on the pitch Vs The Blue Few, they were handed life bans from Ashton Gate, the fact that they have managed to get back in, is down to the lack of security on the clubs behalf.

It's up to the club to with hold the bans, if these people decide to give it a try and get away with it, they'll just keep getting away with it.

Not saying it is easy to spot these people in amongst 10,000+ people each week but if they get away with it :noexpression:

[old_man_terry]

Banned for Life and rightly so, there is no recourse for this kind of behaviour, unacceptable in the highest degree.

the intent was their why should players have to be worried about their safety from potential morons.

not sure what Rigg, Rio, Cantana or Cockerill have to do with this incident at all? however they all recieived severe punishments.

glad to see such people get banned from the gate

[Maesknoll Red]

I'm no pussy footing liberal, but you don't get life inside for murder, the lad may well change as he gets older and perhaps a period of time banned would be appropriate.

I'm not quite sure how a life ban will ever be enforced, I've no idea how old this fan was, but if he was 20 and came back to the Gate in 10 years time, who would be there to recognise him?

[Lordofthebling]

If he will do that to a player he supports, what would type of person is he against our rival teams? I don't want to see it - and "it is only football"

Fair enough sentence in my view.

[old_man_terry]

I'm no pussy footing liberal, but you don't get life inside for murder, the lad may well change as he gets older and perhaps a period of time banned would be appropriate.

I'm not quite sure how a life ban will ever be enforced, I've no idea how old this fan was, but if he was 20 and came back to the Gate in 10 years time, who would be there to recognise him?

fair point however......surely in 10 years time we will be an established premiership team and ashton gate will be filled each week by 45k season ticket holders, this "person" won't be able to get a ticket as he will be down as a banned person........well hopefully........

agree hard to uphold such ban and if he wants to go enough he will be able to, however it will be more difficult for him to get tickets in future,

what's the betting though he will still get a letter in a few season asking him to buy a brick for the new stand!

people like this can't be defended though, and the only person he has to blame is himself

[Bristol Boy]

Banned for Life and rightly so, there is no recourse for this kind of behaviour, unacceptable in the highest degree.

So should, in your opinion, any fan or player found guilty of attempted assault be sine die banned?

not sure what Rigg, Rio, Cantana or Cockerill have to do with this incident at all?

IMHO, what they did, apart from Rio, was far worse as they actually commited assault as opposed to "intend or threaten it"

however they all recieived severe punishments.

None were banned for life and, as it stands, you don't actually serve life for murder on many occassions.I'm not saying he shouldn't be punished, I'm saying it seems disproportionate.

[old parkender]

paul scholes swang a punch at alonso on saturday,will he now be banned from anfield for life?? one rule for them another for the punters.

[NickJ]

On the face of it, this chap-I don't know if he's a regular supporter or not-is getting the punishment he deserves.

On the other hand and after some consderation, I'm not actually sure it's fair and the punishment fits the crime.

For example:

When Cantona jumped into the crowd and Kung Fu kicked the chap at Palace, was he banned for life?

When Paul Davies of Arsenal clumped Glenn Cockerill of Soton off the ball, was he banned for life or the Barrow lad who smacked Rigg?

Was Rio Ferdinand banned for life for failing to turn up for a drugs test?

This chaps so called swing at Bradley Orr, I'm told, missed by about four feet and his shouting and bawling probably was no worst than that expereinced by the players home and away week in week out-I'm not saying that it's right merely mentioning the fact and that fans who do it aren't life banned or even spoken to on 99% of occassions.

Didn't some Rovers fans get on the pitch and assualt/confront the Stoke keeper a while back and get three year bans and weren't City fans allowed back in after a few years when they invaded the field against the Gas that year?

I'm not justifiing what he did, however, it does seem a bit of a long sentence for something that was actually a pretty insignificant occurence and consistency seems not to apply evenly, if at all.

I'm not saying he shouldn't be banned-But Life :noexpression:

As far as the incident is concerned, the guy acted like a complete jerk.

But looking at the incident in isolation (ie i don't know what he is like ordinarily) to get a life ban is completely out of order.

It was something that happened in the heat of the moment, I should imagine he regretted it straight afterwards.

The club are obviously trying to look and act tough, and probably feel they can do so with the support of every other fan given the unanimous condemnation of the lad. But they do not have my support, because IMO it is way over the top.

I would like to know the clubs reconciliation of this decision with their support of the players in the nightclub, the reaction to the Orr and Carey fracas at Northampton etc. Don't get me wrong, I was in agreement with the clubs reaction to these player incidents, but, and this is the bit I would be interested in the club's response to, why is it any different for a spectator?

[Bristol Boy]

fair point however......surely in 10 years time we will be an established premiership team and ashton gate will be filled each week by 45k season ticket holders, this "person" won't be able to get a ticket as he will be down as a banned person........well hopefully........

agree hard to uphold such ban and if he wants to go enough he will be able to, however it will be more difficult for him to get tickets in future,

what's the betting though he will still get a letter in a few season asking him to buy a brick for the new stand!

people like this can't be defended though, and the only person he has to blame is himself

Isn't it a strange world.

Drunken drivers who commit manslaughter serve no more than 2-5 years (50% tariff for first offence) at which point they are mostly free to go where they please..........and drive!!

This bloke had about as much chance of punching Orr as fly to the moon and he gets a life ban.

I'm not defending him and he should be banned, I would say for five years, hopefully by which time he'll have come to his senses.

Also don't forget that the Police will prosecute him for the offence and escaping arrest.

[CotswoldRed]

I can understand his punishment though I wouldn't mind if it was, say, a five year ban.

The other option might be for him to wear a straight-jacket and be velcroed to his seat.

Probably shout racial abuse instead though I guess ......

[Bristol Boy]

I would like to know the clubs reconciliation of this decision with their support of the players in the nightclub, the reaction to the Orr and Carey fracas at Northampton etc. Don't get me wrong, I was in agreement with the clubs reaction to these player incidents, but, and this is the bit I would be interested in the club's response to, why is it any different for a spectator?

Very interesting & thought provoking take on it, Nick.

The overarching point being that we all do and have done, some daft things (I said this at the time and supported the club and the players over the RB Incident) Most of us regret them and most of us calm down, mellow & change as we get older.

I'm all for banning the guy, but life seems very harsh.

[CotswoldRed]

paul scholes swang a punch at alonso on saturday,will he now be banned from anfield for life?? one rule for them another for the punters.

Says it all really doesn't it. And why don't the police ever intervene with acts of violence on the pitch? The intent was there.

[054123]

Knowing a little bit about it, a life ban is well over the top.

The main factor behind this is he is probabaly a young lad (sub 20) and in 5 years time will be a completely different person. We all know what we were like when were 16/17 and how much we've changed so why ban him for life??

Does anyone know what Orr said in reply to lads original comments along the line of 'You've got no commitment' etc. Knowing what we do about Orr, i'm sure it was a calm, measured resonse aimed at defusing a potentially diffuclt situation immediately after a lackluster city dispaly and in no way was it a phrase or statement which was confrontational.

Either way, a complete over reaction. A three year ban would have been more than adequate.

As for making it a safe family envionment, they're certinaly achieveing that, and in doing so turing Ashton Gate into a p!ss poor place to watch football, with **** all atmosphere.

Congrats to Colin and the boys, at least we'll always have memories of when football was enjoyable, which is more than a lot of young'uns can say.

[Percy Parrot]

Fair.

1. Players need protection from totally unprovoked attack.

2. Compare to Cantona/Rigg etc is different. Those players got huge bans from football and docked wages. BCFC can not fine the fan but can ban him.

3. If someone came in to my work place and tried to lamp me I would not expect him to be allowed in to the office again.

4. Anyone who attempts to punch a BCFC player completely inprovoked does not deserve to come back to the ground and I for one don't want them to.

[old parkender]

hmmm.....2 players get into an unseemly scuffle on the pitch,attempted headbutt pushing shoving that sort of thing,passed off as heat of the moment passion born out of the desire to win,bit of a fine,let the club down blah blah put a line under it move on.

a supporter loses his head in a fit off passion after spending hard earned money watching under performing 'stars' launches some abuse and an ill advised swing from yards away in frustration,branded a thug who will not be tolerated in future,banned for life.

2 players carry on with thier career,banned fan watches jeff stelling for the rest of his life.

fair??

[cheshire_red]

We all do stupid things we regret, even some of our players!

Lifetime ban is OTT IMO.

Has he been given the chance to apologise, well yes I suppose he has, he could have written to the club and to the players involved and apologised.

I reckon Bradley Orr would have accepted his apology.

So yes some punishment is in order otherwise some other clown may well think they can get away with it.

[RedTop]

Fair.

1. Players need protection from totally unprovoked attack.

2. Compare to Cantona/Rigg etc is different. Those players got huge bans from football and docked wages. BCFC can not fine the fan but can ban him.

3. If someone came in to my work place and tried to lamp me I would not expect him to be allowed in to the office again.

4. Anyone who attempts to punch a BCFC player completely inprovoked does not deserve to come back to the ground and I for one don't want them to.

Well put. I'm with Percy on this. We don't want people like him down Ashton Gate, surely?

[old parkender]

would it be fair to say red top you also don't want people like bradley orr down there as he has also had a go at one of our players with potentially worse consequences?

[054123]

Well put. I'm with Percy on this. We don't want people like him down Ashton Gate, surely?

Are you talking aabout Orr the thug or the kid who got banned??

[Thornbury Red]

Are you talking aabout Orr the thug or the kid who got banned??

Its fair - not only did he disgrace himself - but he disgraced the rest of our support as well, mind you looking at your quote you are doing a pretty good job yourself

[NickJ]

Well put. I'm with Percy on this. We don't want people like him down Ashton Gate, surely?

"People like him".

Hmmmm.

He was stupid. He was a complete buffoon. An idiot. He deserves to be suspended from the ground for a period of time, probably with a warning (as though he'd need it) that any future trouble would lead to a life ban.

But a life ban for one moment of madness is OTT.

May I ask RedTop, do you think it possible that he immediately regretted his actions, realises it was a terrible mistake, and is absolutely gutted that he is banned for life from watching his team play?

If you accept that is a possibility, would you not agree that he deserves another chance?

[RedTop]

would it be fair to say red top you also don't want people like bradley orr down there as he has also had a go at one of our players with potentially worse consequences?

Players and fans occupy different positions within the football club, with different expectations and different punishments for incursions.

Bradley Orr has been punished in the courts for incidents away from the pitch. Within the club, there is also a disciplinary code and the club can punish them accordingly in ways that can affect their income or have extremely adverse affects on their career. Bradley Orr was subject to the club's disciplinary code, and knowing the importance GJ places on discipline, I'm sure he was dealt with accordingly. There is no such power over fans. When we enter the ground AS SUPPORTERS, we are aware of the restrictions. The club has made clear its policy on such things as incursions onto the pitch, and has threatened life bans before for hooligans caught being violent towards other fans - so the club is surely well within its rights to ban someone who has presented a physical threat to one of the players, and anyone entering the ground can surely have no doubts that the club would implement a serious punishment on any fan being violent within the grounds.

Moreover, do we really want someone who tries to attack one of our own players in the ground 'supporting' the team? It's such an extreme example that I have no sympathy with him and can't think of a less deserving martyr. This is not some harmless knobhead who has run on the pitch naked for a laugh after a few beers. This is someone who tried to deck one of our own players during a game. I mean, come on. The club has to send out a very, very strong message that this is entirely unacceptable and if that means banning an idiot like this for life, then it's hardly a huge loss.

[Bristol Boy]

Well put. I'm with Percy on this. We don't want people like him down Ashton Gate, surely?

Whilst I think that the ban is disproportionate, surely taking the morale high ground is even more dangerous and talking about "people like him", is a bit dangerous as well.

I know for a fact that people who have been convicted of far worse crimes, some football related, come and go freely at AG.Mostly on the basis that they have paid their dues, served their sentence and are reformed characters.

I'm sure there are many people who one would not wish to share a City, never mind a stadium with, but we need to be very careful with life bans, IMHO.

[054123]

Its fair - not only did he disgrace himself - but he disgraced the rest of our support as well, mind you looking at your quote you are doing a pretty good job yourself :disappointed:

It's not fair. The punishment is not proportionate to the crime.

There is most certainly one set rules for professional footballers and one set for those foolish enough to pay and watch them.

He did disgrace himself, but we will all let ourselves down at some point in our lives and only the harshest judge would use this to characterize our existence as a whole and allow the punishment to carry for that length of time as well.

Laws are based on what is and isn't acceptable as perceived by the majority of a given society. Throwing a punch isn't acceptable and as such should be punishable. However this is not the correct punishment. Going on precedents set, a three year ban is sufficient and allows a suitable rehabilitation period.

As for my signature, i have no idea what you mean?

[Guest ashtonyate]

No make him go to ever match that's more of a punishment

[RedLionLad]

I'd make him wear a Rover's shirt to future home games

[old_man_terry]

Banned for Life and rightly so, there is no recourse for this kind of behaviour, unacceptable in the highest degree.

So should, in your opinion, any fan or player found guilty of attempted assault be sine die banned?

what has a player got to do with it? but Yes, if a player is found guilty of assault or attempted assault than yes, Big Dunc Ferguason and that other bloke served jail time for assasult on the pitch

not sure what Rigg, Rio, Cantana or Cockerill have to do with this incident at all?

IMHO, what they did, apart from Rio, was far worse as they actually commited assault as opposed to "intend or threaten it"

however they all recieived severe punishments.

None were banned for life and, as it stands, you don't actually serve life for murder on many occassions.I'm not saying he shouldn't be punished, I'm saying it seems disproportionate.

to compare attempting a hit a player at a match, to murder in a total irrelevance.

I personally don't want those kinda people at Ashton Gate and I don't want my kids growing up thinking that is acceptable, think the club has been correct in their actions. Rovers are considering banning fans for life for the pitch invasion last week, so surely attempting to strike a player is worthy or a similar charge.

either way, he's not banned from watching City for ever, he can still go to away game, City are just making it clear that they won't tolerate that kinda behaviour at Ashton Gate

[RedTop]

May I ask RedTop, do you think it possible that he immediately regretted his actions, realises it was a terrible mistake, and is absolutely gutted that he is banned for life from watching his team play?

If you accept that is a possibility, would you not agree that he deserves another chance?

If I've understood this correct, despite having plenty of time he has not given any apology to the player involved or the club for his action. There is no reason to think that he immediately and genuinely regretted his actions. It may be a 'terrible mistake', but it was not an accident and he did not 'mistakenly' swing out. He intentionally tried to lamp one of our players during a game and that is something that he must surely take personal responsible for, and therefore pay the penalty for - partly to punish him and partly also to act as a deterrent for anyone else tempted to attack a player. How often have people on here had a go at the Gas, for example, for failing to do enough when opposition players are pelted with coins or objects? We should be welcoming this as protection for our players.

I accept that he may be gutted that he is banned for life from watching his team play. But surely that is the point of a punishment? If he'd streaked on the pitch for a laugh, I'd agree with you that a life ban is too strong. But he took a swing at one of our own players. It was not some jape that went a bit over the top - it was an act of unacceptable violence. If he's upset at not being able to watch City play, he's only got himself to blame really.

[old_man_terry]

Players and fans occupy different positions within the football club, with different expectations and different punishments for incursions.

Bradley Orr has been punished in the courts for incidents away from the pitch. Within the club, there is also a disciplinary code and the club can punish them accordingly in ways that can affect their income or have extremely adverse affects on their career. Bradley Orr was subject to the club's disciplinary code, and knowing the importance GJ places on discipline, I'm sure he was dealt with accordingly. There is no such power over fans. When we enter the ground AS SUPPORTERS, we are aware of the restrictions. The club has made clear its policy on such things as incursions onto the pitch, and has threatened life bans before for hooligans caught being violent towards other fans - so the club is surely well within its rights to ban someone who has presented a physical threat to one of the players, and anyone entering the ground can surely have no doubts that the club would implement a serious punishment on any fan being violent within the grounds.

Moreover, do we really want someone who tries to attack one of our own players in the ground 'supporting' the team? It's such an extreme example that I have no sympathy with him and can't think of a less deserving martyr. This is not some harmless knobhead who has run on the pitch naked for a laugh after a few beers. This is someone who tried to deck one of our own players during a game. I mean, come on. The club has to send out a very, very strong message that this is entirely unacceptable and if that means banning an idiot like this for life, then it's hardly a huge loss.

common sense as ever.

this person brought the club to shame and is an embrassment to the rest of the civil fans at the club.

personally I go to ashton gate to watch football, not some jumped up moron trying to assault players of OUR team!