the last word

Dear NTV,

I was just wondering how many of your readers are aware that Neil Lennon's ban for his conduct after the game against Rangers at Ibrox was actually exactly the SAME as that handed out to Nikolinaus of Hearts? This is a fact in spite of the many hacks and pundits who continuously refer in scathing terms to the leniency of Lennon's ban (e.g. Davie Provan wrote in one of his columns two weeks ago that 'Lennon should have received the same five game ban as that meted out to Nikolinaus').

The facts are - Nikolinaus served a six game ban in total. THREE for his conduct towards the official and a three game automatic suspension because he was shown two red cards by the referee. Lennon served a four game ban consisting of THREE matches for his conduct towards the official and a one game automatic ban for the one red card he was shown.

When you consider that Lennon made no physical contact with the referee but was on the receiving end of the same ban as a player who physically assaulted an official it tends to put a new light on the assertion that Lennon was dealt with leniently.

However the Scottish media seem happy enough to let this twisted version of events linger in the public consciousness. At best this is borne of the ignorance of 'experts' and at worst is downright misinformation.

For example James Traynor can hardly seem to get through a radio broadcast without carping back to the incident. James Traynor - remember the guy who wanted Sutton banned for 12 games for his Dunfermline comments?

Now we all remember the furore in the press following those remarks. Contrast and compare with the sympathetic puff given to Alex Rae, who actually kicked a prostrate player in the head during a game (v CSKA Moscow last year). The general view among the chip wrappers was that the Rangers player was hard done by after UEFA banned him for three games. Ask any professional whether he'd rather have some abuse shouted at him, called a cheat or have his skull kicked by another pro's boot and this may not quite square with the priorities expressed by the Scottish media in relation to each offence.

I have to wonder what the media reaction might be if, for example, the Rangers captain Barry Ferguson suffered a loss of temper after receiving a red card in an Old Firm game?

Hold on ... such an example already exists - 27th August 2000 Bammy gets his marching orders for deliberate handball, proceeds to throw the ball at Jonny Gould, give the Celtic fans in the main stand a 'V' sign and then goes home to get togged up for a fight in Bothwell Bridge. Apart from a bit of gratuitous detail about events at Bothwell Bridge in the non-sports pages of a couple of the rags, relatively little was said about this behaviour. Certainly there were no calls for a lengthy ban for inciting opposition fans and any comment from the media was along the lines 'he's a daft wee boy who needs looked after'

Makes you wonder what James Traynor and his pals would consider an appropriate ban for Neil Lennon under similar circumstances? Life?

More points to consider re Lennon's ban: Celtic apologised quickly and publicly after Lennon's antics. So did Lennon. Strachan stated that Celtic would accept whatever punishment was meted out and would not appeal. Lennon pleaded guilty.

Hearts asked for an inquiry into the integrity of Andy Davis's decision (which we all know stank anyway, but compare that to the prompt apologies Dougal received) Mikolinaus pled not guilty and appealed his original 5 match ban and had it downgraded to three matches. Neither Hearts or their player ever apologised or backed down over the incident.

Somehow, Lennon appears to have committed the footballing equivalent of a war crime while it's forgive and forget if you're an Edinburgh Jambo.

Yours etc.
TONY BANANAS
by e-mail

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double standards

Dear NTV,

I decided to tune into STV's coverage of Rangers v Porto in the Champions League as I reckoned it had the potential to be the best comedy show on the telly that night. As both teams lined up on the pitch the home support burst into a rousing chorus of their favourite football song, 'we're up to our knees in Fenian blood'. It certainly seemed to have the desired effect as they got the most undeserved three points in this competition I have ever seen thanks to their combined tactics of trying to dismember opponents with wild challenges and throwing long balls up the pitch to hope for the best.

The next night STV's Scotland Today programme had an item featuring the 'Show Racism the Red Card' campaign, which was backed by clubs throughout the country. They also spoke about the racial abuse that Mark Walters had been subjected to while playing for Rangers. I'm sure all true football supporters would support such a campaign. However, what surprised me was that the same TV station that had covered the game the previous evening didn't mention anything about the sectarian singing at Ibrox.

Why the selective amnesia? Is it that sectarian abuse is acceptable?

Answers on a postcard if you can work it out.
GARIBALDI
Paisley

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sycophancy on the airwaves

Dear NTV,

After the recent directive to Rangers supporters from their owner and steel tycoon not to buy certain newspapers, I was astonished to learn that this command was also extended to certain radio stations which are,. apparently, equally prohibited, namely Radio Scotland.

Judging by the number of callers phoning in to demand big Eck's head on a plate it would appear that David Murray's instructions sometimes fall on deaf ears (no pun intended).

It was while listening to this particular radio station on the night of Inter v Rangers that I heard yet another of Chick Young's legendary and nauseating interviews with someone connected with Rangers FC, the person this time being Martin Bain. Sycophancy was taken to a new level. At one point Chick referred to the Champions League as 'the only show in town', which may be true but I didn't hear him complaining too much as he toured round Europe on the back of our run to Seville, all expenses paid, presumably.

The interview - and I use the term in its loosest possible sense - then moved on to Artmedia and how they would receive a 'very warm welcome' at Ibrox given that they had eliminated Celtic.

You could, of course, take Chick's logic a stage further by saying that the same welcome mat might not be extended to Inter who lost a European Cup final to Celtic... or am I just being paranoid?

The interview went on in this vein for some time. I had expected at the very least a question about the recent Night of the Long Knives which saw a bloodless coup remove McLelland and Ogilvie from the room at the top of the marble staircase, but maybe wee Chick, fearless investigative reporter that he is, thought better of it.

I think Rangers were given an easier ride on this that we might have expected to appear in the chip wrappers if another team - say Celtic - had removed two directors. Murray did say he wanted a fair, not favourable press (what's he been reading all these years?). He doesn't seem to be getting his wish if Chick's example is anything to by.

Yours etc.
TRIALIST
Glasgow

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stand up sit down

Dear Editor,

Ask a football supporter why they dedicate no small part of their lives and income to following their team and you'll get obvious answers; however one response seldom given these days refers to the camaraderie with fellow supporters, the singing and chanting, the banter and standing shoulder to shoulder with mates and family on the terraces. Supporting your team in such a way now belongs in the past and yet is much missed and lamented by huge numbers of match going fans, and perhaps more importantly, those that are now staying away. Memories of standing on the terraces are now fast fading with a new generation of supporters rarely contributing to an atmosphere that for many older supporters played a major part in their Saturday afternoons, and yet they yearn to do so. Younger supporters these days are more likely than not to sit in the stands and watch their team in near silence and will never be passed over the heads of their fellow supporters to sit at the front of a heaving, noisy crowd let alone be part of it!

Of course nobody reading this would want a return to the days of terracing, when conditions were sometimes appalling, and scant regard was had for the safety of supporters but what the majority of members of Stand Up Sit Down (www.standupsitdown.co.uk) tell us is that they feel all seater stadiums and being made to sit contribute hugely to the lack of atmosphere and that that is increasingly effecting their decision to stay away from games.

Supporters at Man City have set up an organisation called The Atmosphere Action Group and their counterparts at Newcastle, Bring Back the Noise, so important is atmosphere to them. The efforts of Man City supporters are perhaps paying off; at a recent home game a recording of the crowd in full voice was heard over the tannoy system....

Of course the increasing ticket prices and kick off times designed to suit a television audience play their part in decreasing attendances but surely the time is ripe for both clubs and footballing authorities to consider a return to standing and consequently getting some real atmosphere back in our grounds, not just for 'big' games but for every game.

Stand Up Sit Down would welcome the return of safe terracing perhaps along the German model, but recognise that the majority of clubs would be loathe to put the necessary investment into doing this even if regulations were changed. We are therefore proposing that the authorities consider relaxing the rules and allow supporters to stand in front of their seats in designated areas, preferably a lower tier, something that they've done without incident since seats replaced terraces. It is apparent that Lord Taylor had little understanding of football supporters when he stated that we'd soon get used to having to sit!

It is telling that managers, players and pundits will often cite the crowd as being the 12th man and yet rarely do stadiums come to life with every supporter cheering their team on - the supporters to which they refer will have, more often than not, been congregated in one area, ordinarily behind the goal, and will have stood throughout the game despite stewards trying to force them to sit.

Since the inception of Stand Up Sit Down we've spoken to a number of people from within the game, including club chairman, safety officers and individual police officers and a surprising number of them back our objectives and yet very few of them will allow us to quote them on the record as they fear drawing the unwelcome attentions of the FLA and safety authorities. Last season an MD of a Championship club raised the issue of safe standing at a supporter forum and the overwhelming number of people attending voted in favour of a return to standing; the MD then public ally voiced support for our initiative and urged his supporters to do likewise. We heard shortly afterwards that this MD was told by his local safety advisory group that his opinions on the issue should not be publicly aired! While SUSD met with the FLA earlier this year, they politely listened to our arguments and issues in favour of being allowed to stand, they were dismissed out of hand by Richard Caborn the Sports Minister on the advice of John De Quidt of the FLA.

It would seem that the experiences of supporters who still stand in the lower divisions in this country and those who stand in Europe don't even enter their thought process! Surely if the risk of cascading or supporters simply losing their balance and falling was so great, then every supporter in the country would be legally required to spend 90 minutes with their bums glued to the seats. What next, compulsory seat belts for those in rows X, Y and Z?!

Simply, there appears to be a concerted effort for the issue of standing not to reach debate in the public domain and yet can club chairmen continue to pretend this issue (and others) doesn't matter to supporters when they are staying away in their thousands?

If they do consider backing the return of standing by either implementing our proposals or taking away seats that were simply put on terraces, they may be interested in the findings of a survey carried out on our proposals by the Football Fans Census late last year. Just over 1500 fans from all clubs were surveyed aged between 16 and 55 and 88% of them said separate standing areas should be created with a further 24% saying they should be mandatory! Surely to ignore such strong opinion will eventually be to the games detriment with supporters finding it more fun - not to say cheaper - to watch games in the pub where they are not watched over by neurotic officials who have yet to offer a convincing safety argument in favour of enforcing the all seater rule in such a draconian way?

Now you've read this you may be wondering what, if anything, you can do. Firstly, sign our petition (www.standupsitdown.co.uk) and become a member, secondly write to your club, your MP and the FLA expressing your wish that supporters should be given the choice as to whether they sit or stand at their club. If you are interesting in arranging a peaceful 'Yellow Card the FLA' protest, email us at info@standupsitdown.co.uk and we can co-ordinate the protest for you and provide advice, we can also put you in touch with like minded supporters.

There are enough of us out there to make a difference - if we really want to; if you leave it to somebody else we'll continue getting the treatment our apathy deserves.

STAND UP SIT DOWN by e-mail