Trouble flares after England exit
From http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/jersey/3835043.stm


Jersey fans after the game: The population is 10% Portuguese
Police in riot gear used CS gas to disperse crowds in Jersey while trouble flared up in parts of the UK after England's Euro 2004 defeat to Portugal.
Around 1,500 England fans brought Minden Place in St Helier to a standstill after Portugal's victory.

Traffic was diverted and police held back the crowd as bottles were thrown and Portuguese supporters were taunted.

Meanwhile in Thetford, Norfolk, scared Portuguese fans cowered as the pub they were in was pelted with missiles.


Seven people were arrested in Boston, Lincs, after crowds of disappointed England fans congregated in Market Place after the penalty shoot-out and a small fire was started outside a kebab shop.

It is believed trouble began in Jersey when people were trying to reach the Portuguese Club in St James Street - the scenes were the most serious among sporadic outbreaks.

The situation was brought under control by 0100 BST.

Jersey's population is around 10% Portuguese, of Madeiran origin.


Pub stand-off

Vingtenier Mitch Couriard from St Helier's Honorary Police said: "It was shocking. There's been nothing like this in Jersey in living memory.

"It was completely uncalled for."

In Thetford, scores of Portuguese fans - including children - were escorted to safety by police after being besieged inside a pub by England supporters for more than two hours.


Pictures from Lisbon
England's pub fans deflated

Missiles, including bottles, were thrown at the Red Lion pub in the Norfolk town which is managed by a group of Portuguese businessmen, following the dramatic game.

Gillian Shephard, the MP for South West Norfolk, said on Friday: "This was appalling.

"Thetford will not have a good reputation nationwide this morning."

The landlord of the pub, Sergio Quieros, said the damage to trade and the premises made it almost impossible for him to stay in the UK.

"I don't know if I will run the pub anymore.

"It's a shame because we have 6,000 Portuguese in Thetford.

"Maybe I'll go back to Portugal and stay there."

There were also 17 arrests in Hertfordshire after scenes of public disorder.

Five people were arrested in Watford, five in Hoddesdon, two in Stevenage, two in St Albans and one each in Hatfield, Hemel Hempstead and Hitchin, police said.

Severed ear

In Liverpool a 24-year-old man is recovering after his ear was cut off in a fight following England's defeat.

He was taken to hospital after the fight in the city centre.

Two people have been arrested on suspicion of wounding following the incident in the Williamson Square area of the city, police said.


Missiles were thrown at Portuguese fans in the pub

In the two hours after the game, the Essex Ambulance Service received double the number of calls it usually does.


Scotland Yard said six people were arrested in Croydon for public order offences after the game.

Ironically, police in Lisbon said England supporters were well behaved after the game.

"The English fans since they have been here have known both defeat and victory and in each case they have behaved in a very civilised way," a Portuguese police spokesman said.

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Shudder to think what would have happened if they got beat in the Semi's or the Final.

Shameful, just shameful.

Hmmm

Yes, it's bad. But the title of your thread (particularly with the jaunty little exclamation mark!) seems to suggest that you take some perverse pleasure in seeing England fans riot and misbehave. This variety of schadenfreude seems a particularly Scottish thing and is pretty ugly in its own right.

Yes it is shameful, but a lot of it is no different to what happens in most UK city centres when the pubs chuck out every weekend.

That's what you have to expect from Englishmen, they've always been sore losers, and their football fans have always been the most violent...

Yes it is shameful, but...That's maybe the difference between English supporters and other supporters. Everywhere else in Europe, there wouldn't be a "but". It's simply shameful.

Yes, it's bad. But the title of your thread (particularly with the jaunty little exclamation mark!) seems to suggest that you take some perverse pleasure in seeing England fans riot and misbehave. This variety of schadenfreude seems a particularly Scottish thing and is pretty ugly in its own right.

So what you're trying to say is that you like ice-cream? I think that's what you're trying to say, so let me just tell you this: It ain't healthy!

Its a fair point that Bholed is probably happy that England are out and probably happy that the idiotic minority are still causing trouble... Well at least they can't blame it on football for another 2 years...

That's maybe the difference between English supporters and other supporters. Everywhere else in Europe, there wouldn't be a "but". It's simply shameful.

You seem to be missing my point, yes it is shameful, I am not condoning it in any way, what I am saying is that it is not english football supporters but purely symptomatic of the behaviour of certain individuals after consummuning alcohol. The defeat is just acting as an excuse for trouble.

There are many English supporters who behaved perfectly reasonably after this and every previous defeat, and we do not wish to get tarred with the same brush as these morons.

That's what you have to expect from Englishmen, they've always been sore losers, and their football fans have always been the most violent...
That's rubbish. You compare the fan violence in the Premiership with Serie A. The only difference is that we export our violence, except we didn't in this case. And Englishmen are not sore losers. We lose far too often for that.

Looks like the plan to prevent hooligans travelling to Portugal worked - they're all causing havoc in their native environment.

So what you're trying to say is that you like ice-cream? I think that's what you're trying to say, so let me just tell you this: It ain't healthy!

Urrr.... I'm sure you've managed to do a quite witty observation or counterpoint to my post, but I just can't work out what it is. Maybe something got lost in the translation, or maybe I'm just being thick today.

For the record, I prefer vanilla or good quality cherry ice-cream. Hope that's what you were asking.

:lol: I was merely trying to caricature the way you over-interpreted bholed's post and built a critique on your false interpretation.

Don't mind me - I have a very strange sense of humour...

BTW, I prefer good vanilla ice cream - the plain vanilla is the best. But the most important thing is the ice cream quality. You know the water based ice cream you get in Southern Europe, in gelatterias in Italy - it's a bad excuse for ice cream, IMHO... :D

:lol: I was merely trying to caricature the way you over-interpreted bholed's post and built a critique on your false interpretation.

Don't mind me - I have a very strange sense of humour...


Perhaps you would have had to be in Scotland during an English sporting failure (or (perhaps) an equivalent situation) to understand my reaction. Bholed later removed the exclamation mark, but while it was there, it seemed very much the traidtional Scottish pleasure in English failure. Now, while I can understand and accept that when it's pleasure at England losing a game, I have real problems with it as pleasure gained from English fans behaving loutishly. Not that this attititude is uncommon in Scotland - from my experience, the majority of Scots I know take some sort of pleasure in seeing England &/or the English being publicly castigated, and if that glee happens to be sourced from some people being attacked or terrified, well, so much the better as it lets us Scots keep an aura of moral superiority.

Sorry if it seems an overinterpretation. Many (most) Scots do think like that, and it appalls me. If Bholed's intention was just dispassionately to bring the forum's attention to the matter :crazyeye: , I apologise to him for wrongly grouping him with most of our fellow countrymen.


BTW, I prefer good vanilla ice cream - the plain vanilla is the best. But the most important thing is the ice cream quality. You know the water based ice cream you get in Southern Europe, in gelatterias in Italy - it's a bad excuse for ice cream, IMHO... :D

I'm certainly with you on that one.

That's what you have to expect from Englishmen, they've always been sore losers, and their football fans have always been the most violent...

Proof of the English being sore losers: the War of 1812

Ok a certain amount of nation bashing is inevitable and acceptable during a tournament. But lets keep it reasonable, under control and about football. Thread closed.