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Saturday, January 20, 2007

"FAN BAN, AND YOU STILL CANT WIN" City back to winning ways in empty Wolves stadium

VIDEO FOOTAGE OF PROTEST AGAINST BANNING OF CARDIFF CITY FANS

Today, City were away to Wolves. Now I don’t normally blog about games I don’t go to, I am sure you get bored with my ramblings about the ones I do go to, but this one was a little out of the ordinary. NO City fans were allowed!

Two years ago a bunch of Wolves ‘fans’ attacked a bunch of families getting back on the Cardiff busses after the game, City fans responded by giving the wolves a bit of a kicking. Last year, the police decided to clear the bar at half time by wading in with batons and truncheons, hospitalising several city fans. An official investigation was set up which found that the police were at fault and of the 17 arrested, only some geezer that threw a pie was eventually charged. This season Wolves came to Cardiff and kicked off, ripping seats out and throwing them at the home fans. The result of all this? Cardiff banned from Wolves!

The banning flew in the face of logic, but despite protestations from Cardiff City FC, the Cardiff City Supporters Club, the Cardiff and Valley RAMs, the Football Supporters Federation, various MPs and AMs… and even Wolves fans themselves, the ban stayed.

Plans were put in motion for a demonstration in Wolverhampton city centre and one bunch of City fans hired an airship to fly over the stadium and beat the ban. Unfortunately the high winds put pay to the airship idea, but the protest went ahead, despite draconian measures by the West Midlands Police at 9am. The demo attracted fans from Cardiff, Wolves, Stoke, Spurs, Arsenal and many others. The worry is that this could be seen as the thin end of the wedge and other clubs could try it on, which would be a disaster for football.

Meanwhile, back at the stadium… Cardiff directors refused to sit in the directors box and the City team came out and ran over to applaud the empty away end. This was the perfect occasion for city to end their goal drought and knock up their first win for 14 games. Revenge is sweet.

All eyes are now on the Wolves v West Brom derby this weekend, if there is any agro between these fierce rivals many City fans will be shouting from the roof tops about victimisation and there will be cries of “you don’t know what you’re doing”.

for footage from Valley Rams Tv of the protest....

Part one

Part two

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