Cardiff Away – Why bother?

How to squeeze all the atmosphere and pleasure out of a local derby in one fell swoop. Well done the Heddlu! In my view, Cardiff away as a fixture is now officially dead. Already subjected to a reduced 1,481 ticket allocation, a 12.00 kick-off on a Sunday and no local train service, what else could Bristol City fans expect to make their away day go any better… ?

Well, you could be barred from all pubs in the city centre before and after the game unless you had ID with a Cardiff address. All coaches and mini buses could have to comply with an “RVP” (whatever that is) and report to Junction 33 services between 10.15am & 10.45am to then be escorted directly into the away compound at the stadium by the police.

That would also mean no drop-off of passengers within a 10 mile radius of the ground without police permission. So, this would effectively be a bubble match.

And that is precisely what we experienced on Sunday!

There was a massive police presence at the game, with dogs, horses and riot vans. I would estimate that there were easily 100+ police officers on duty.

During the second half, one police officer saw fit to set up a camera and film the entire away end. You have to ask yourself why? Boredom? To justify being there? Who knows?

As far as we are aware, there was no trouble and never likely to be. I suspect South Wales Police will use this as justification for such heavy handed policing.

For the record, the SC&T position is that any law-abiding football fans attending a game anywhere in the country should be allowed to travel unrestricted and enjoy their day out.

Yes, that also includes Cardiff fans travelling to Ashton Gate.
We cannot do anything about performances on the pitch as fans, but surely we can expect a modicum of respect from the authorities off it?

Stu Rogers, Chair

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