[gary]

A curious case this. A train load of Sunderland fans who were returning from a pre season game with Hearts were "intercepted" by Police at Newcastle at which point it kicked off big style with mass arrests.

But no-one has been charged with a single offence, despite extensive cctv footage, let alone convicted. Nor are charges either imminent, or likley.

Despite all this Sunderland have cancelled the season tickets of dozens of fans who were detained, even though no further action has been taken. Unsurprisngly, those fans are pretty upset and the FSF are taking up their cause:

http://www.bristolro...le.asp?a=176533

http://www.fsf.org.u....page=about&id=

http://www.fsf.org.u....?id=&page=sign

[FookTheMags]

Timeline of the whole thing - http://www.fsf.org.u.../Mediawatch.php

Quote

Mediawatch
Many Sunderland fans have been outraged by the media's reporting of this story with many, although not all, reporting the police's version of events without question. We've published a timeline in order to highlight inaccuracies or praise those who've taken a more even-handed approach, such as the Guardian and Private Eye. If we've missed anything significant let us know!

Saturday August 8th

•Sunderland fans returning from their team’s pre-season friendly with Hearts are met by Northumbria Police. Four fans are hospitalised in the incident. Over the weekend reports begin to appear on SAFC fans’ forum Ready To Go complaining of excessive police force which left fans a number of fans seriously injured.
Monday August 10th

•The FSF receive calls complaining of police brutality which lead to our first story on the issue.
Tuesday August 11th

•The Evening Chronicle launches an attack on the fans at Central Station. Lowest common denominator reporting sees “rampaging Sunderland soccer yobs” running “amok in Newcastle Central Station”. Yobs? Amok? Other than sensationalist tabloid journalists does anyone actually use these words in the real world?
•The copy was effectively written by the police themselves - see their virtually identical press release . The sorry tale of four dogs (Clio, Floyd, Earl and Diesel) subjected to “the worst assaults in the Northumbria force’s history… In total, four dogs were left battered and bruised, while the police stepped up their hunt for the louts responsible.”
•Any sense of balance was lost and the FSF was never asked for comment – the fact that three fans were hospitalised appearing as an afterthough to the police and Chronicle.
•The FSF's Freedom of Information request would later show that no police dogs required veterinary treatment after the “the worst assaults in the Northumbria force’s history.” Says it all.
Wednesday August 12th

•BBC Look North run with the story and the FSF’s Amanda Jacks sticks it to ‘em!
•Sunderland fan Allan Brown is front page news as he shows his serious head wounds caused by police batons. It is against police guidelines to strike people on the head unless their life is in danger - no police officers were hurt in the incident. The Echo report he intends to sue.
Thursday August 13th

•The Echo reports that the IPCC is to investigate and explains the FSF’s concerns. Reports that police have started visiting fans at home begin to filter through on internet forums.
Saturday 15th August

•The police claim that the ‘first train’ to arrive into Central Station contained 40 ‘risk’ supporters who caused the violence. Aside from disputing their version when it comes to ‘violence’ the train they mean was the 6.30pm arrival. If they can’t get this right, what else have they got wrong? The police also persist with their claim that this was ‘pre-arranged’ even though many on the train thought they were going direct to Sunderland as the Tannoy announcement at Hearts had told them.
Monday August 17th

•The Echo runs a front page story based on newly released (Northumbria Police edit) CCTV highlights. There still seems to be a remarkable absence of, well, violence. The police refuse to release all of the footage. Funny that.
Thursday August 20th

•The FSF hold a press conference in Sunderland outlining some of the horrific scenes witnessed by traumatised supporters. See this link and please note the press conference is split over five links. This was very fairly reported in the following day’s Echo and Shields Gazette.
•We also demanded the resignation of the IPCC’s commissioner for the North East on the back of his rushed and unprofessional assessment. The Evening Chronicle - suprise, suprise - report the police's line.
Tuesday August 25th

•The police release more CCTV stills which are picked up by the BBC.
Wednesday August 26th and Thursday August 27th


•FSF chair Malcolm Clarke writes to the IPCC with a formal complaint against their decision not to investigate and The Guardian Sport reports the story front page. The Echo report more arrests.
Wednesday September 16th

•Private Eye publish a fantastic piece slamming Northumbria Police, labelling it their G20 moment in reference to the death of Ian Tomlinson and the police PR campaign/cover up that followed.
Wednesday September 23rd and Thursday September 24th

•The Guardian and Sunderland Echo report that we’re stepping up the appeal for witnesses.
Sunday September 27th

•Sunderland play at home to Wolves and a group of Sunderland fans come together to hand out almost 10,000 flyers - CENTRAL STATION: SUNDERLAND FANS WANT THE TRUTH.
Wednesday October 14th

•Throughout October we hear from fans who say they've been harassed by police at games and in particular the Birmingham City League Cup game from a few weeks previous. We now believe more than 40 supporters have been arrested although still no charges have been brought against anyone at all.
Thursday October 29th

•Reports start coming in that fans have been banned from SAFC, by the club not the police, despite the fact they have not been given any opportunity to defend themselves. Football fans are guilty until proven innocent now - read our story here.
•Fans are understandably furious about this and begin to put together plans to challenge the club's actions.
Thursday October 5th

•Sunderland fans launch a petition appealing on chairman Niall Quinn to overturn the decision to ban fans caught up in the incident.

[gary]

With some cases similar to this the sob stories stink of simply coming unstuck.This one has the ring of truth about it from the fans side.

[The Fulwell]

gary, on 07 November 2009 - 01:10 AM, said:

With some cases similar to this the sob stories stink of simply coming unstuck.This one has the ring of truth about it from the fans side.

As someone who had the misfortune to be on that infamous 18.30 train from Edinburgh to Sunderland (which mysteriously terminated at Newcastle station), I can assure you that there is more than a ring of truth to the fans' version of events.

Having witnessed the clearly premeditated, unprovoked and brutal assault on our fans, who did no worse than sing songs loudly before that attack took place, I'm still incredibly angry about the police actions that occurred night.

The image of seeing an innocent fan after he was hit with a police baton (as well as 2 or 3 others) with blood pumping out of his head like a fountain and convulsing, then going very still, to the extent that it was thought that the poor sod had died, will live with me to my dying day.

What the police did that night was an absolute disgrace and, hopefully as a result of the extremely pro-active assistance of the FSF, they will get their comeuppance and end up themselves in Court and found guilty of at least GBH charges.

Please, please, please, get on the FSF site and sign the petition. It's not, of course, just SAFC supporters who have been victims of totally unnecessary police violence over the years - it could be almost any set of supporters in this country.

[Ste]

Hmm, Police closing ranks and covering up the truth. Surely not?