The head of football policing in England has called on the game’s authorities and television broadcasters to pay more attention to kick-off times after questioning the scheduling of Aston Villa’s controversial FA Cup quarter-final against West Bromwich Albion.
Villa’s 2-0 win on Saturday evening was overshadowed by widespread crowd trouble that included three pitch invasions, a reported attack on Callum McManaman, a West Brom player, and the sight of visiting supporters ripping up seats and throwing them at their Villa counterparts sitting in the bottom tier of the North Stand at Villa Park.
The FA announced today that it had contacted Villa and West Brom for their observations and was liaising with both clubs and West Midlands Police as part of its investigation to identify and punish any trouble-makers.
Mark Roberts, of Cheshire Police, the national lead officer for football policing, believes that the decision to kick off the game at 5.30pm to suit the BBC’s television scheduling was a significant factor behind the disturbances and violence.
“Broadcasters as well as the football authorities need to start taking these issues seriously,” he said. “What we want is a sensible dialogue so that we schedule the game appropriately. If you look at the four games for the FA Cup quarter-finals this week, you couldn’t probably have picked a worse one to have on a Saturday tea-time than a local derby between two big clubs. All games have potential [for crowd trouble] but clearly some games have more potential than others.
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“If you give people four, five, six hours more drinking time, don’t be surprised if, in a highly charged atmosphere, their behaviour isn’t good. I don’t there is any coincidence that where there’s alcohol involved, people’s behaviour tends to deteriorate.”
His comments were backed by fans’ groups on both sides
Aston Villa fan Matt Turvey, the editor of astonvillalife.com who watched the game from the Upper Holte End, said: “The timing was pretty stupid. I’m not overly sure about the rationale but 12.30pm would have been ideal. You’re getting people drinking from 9.30am and turning up at Villa Park at 5.30pm - it’s a pretty obvious result.
“If it was down to TV then it just illustrates that everything is pushed aside for money.”
Alan Cleverley, West Brom’s Official Supporters’ club chairman, said it was time the authorities took more notice of fans’ concerns.
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Cleverley said: “Let’s blame the fans of both clubs, the BBC and the Football Association. I spoke to the police four weeks ago and told them it was going to happen.
“The answer to this one was to kick off at 12pm on Saturday, or even 11am - the real fans would have been there at that time. The game should never have kicked off at the time it did.”
Police have so far made 17 arrests related to the game and West Brom are now studying CCTV footage to try and single out any of their supporters who were guilty of disorder.
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“If that was the situation, and they’ve got CCTV cameras up there, those supporters should never come into another football ground,” Tony Pulis, the West Brom manager, said. “It is like people coming into someone else’s house - you have to show respect.”
Pulis was also critical of Villa’s stewarding and was concerned with the apparent ease with which Villa supporters got onto the pitch. The FA had a crowd safety advisor at every FA Cup quarter-final tie and its report, due to be filed in the next 24 hours, will determine if Villa’s stewarding was negligent.
The FA said: “All available video footage will be studied by the relevant parties to identify anyone who has committed a disorder offence inside the stadium and ensure they face the appropriate punishment. Whilst its investigation continues, the FA will make no further comment.”
West Midlands Police are also seeking witnesses to a disturbance at the Witton Arms pub before the match.