Saturday, October 31, 2009
Fan Violence
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EADT24/James Hore - Football thugs banned from all matches
10/31/2009
- A GANG of football thugs who organised violent fights and sang about killing police officers have been banned from all matches in England.
- The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) yesterday successfully obtained banning orders against eight young men and teenagers responsible for a catalogue of vile behaviour from 2006 to 2009.
- Harwich Magistrates' Court heard the so-called “Colchester Youth Squad” - which has no affiliation with the League One club - made throat-slitting gestures at opposition supporters, organised fights and were responsible for criminal damage.
- Magistrates agreed to banning orders for eight offenders including Tyler Porter, 18, of Brightlingsea, Joe Ennew, 18, of Colchester, Rhys Holbrow, 19, of Rowhedge, and four others who can't be named for legal reasons, from all football games across England and Wales for the next three years.
- Luke Hewitt, 22, of Colchester, received a four year banning order.
- The ban is instant and means the gang will not be allowed in parts of Colchester when homes games are played.
They will also be barred from any town where the U's are away from home and not be able to use trains, including the London Underground, while Colchester United or England are playing.
And the gang members cannot go into Colchester when international games are played.
Ian Elkins, CPS prosecutor, said: “The Crown Prosecution Service has recently updated its policy to tackle football hooliganism, and this is the first case of its kind in the region with this many defendants.
“Particularly in the run up to the World Cup we hope to be even more proactive in our work with the police to increase prosecutions of this nature and improve public confidence by dealing with this type of offending.”
Mr Elkins added: “This behaviour is threatening and intimidating and wholly unacceptable and we hope these banning orders will stop further offences of violence and disorder, in particular, in relation to Colchester United Football Club.
“We hope these youths take stock of their actions, which has intimidated genuine football fans and innocent passers by, and are deterred from similar behaviour in the future. “
- The defendants did not contest the evidence put forward by the CPS at yesterday's hearing. EADT24
BBC - Football 'wanted men' were actors
- Actors in the feature film The Firm that was premiered in London in September
Scotland Yard has apologised after actors from a hit film were mistakenly identified as football hooligans being sought after riots at a West Ham game.
Police issued 66 pictures of people supposedly caught on camera during violent clashes in August.
The images wrongly included stills of six actors from recent film The Firm.
A TV report was used to capture the images but because there was no sound officers did not realise it included clips from the hooligan-themed film.
Fan stabbed
Scotland Yard, who released the images on Tuesday, said: "Six images of individuals who were not involved in the violence were mistakenly included.
"These images appear to have been taken from a motion picture.
"We wish to apologise unreservedly to those affected. We are going to be actively trying to contact those people to offer our apologies."
A Millwall supporter was stabbed as fans clashed outside West Ham's Upton Park ground in east London after the home side won 3-1.
Police have arrested more than 40 people so far in connection with the trouble on 25 August.
The Firm, which was released last month, is set in football hooligans' 1980s heyday and is about a young man who joins a "firm" of thugs. BBC
EADT24/James Hore - Football thugs banned from all matches
10/31/2009
- A GANG of football thugs who organised violent fights and sang about killing police officers have been banned from all matches in England.
- The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) yesterday successfully obtained banning orders against eight young men and teenagers responsible for a catalogue of vile behaviour from 2006 to 2009.
- Harwich Magistrates' Court heard the so-called “Colchester Youth Squad” - which has no affiliation with the League One club - made throat-slitting gestures at opposition supporters, organised fights and were responsible for criminal damage.
- Magistrates agreed to banning orders for eight offenders including Tyler Porter, 18, of Brightlingsea, Joe Ennew, 18, of Colchester, Rhys Holbrow, 19, of Rowhedge, and four others who can't be named for legal reasons, from all football games across England and Wales for the next three years.
- Luke Hewitt, 22, of Colchester, received a four year banning order.
- The ban is instant and means the gang will not be allowed in parts of Colchester when homes games are played.
They will also be barred from any town where the U's are away from home and not be able to use trains, including the London Underground, while Colchester United or England are playing.
And the gang members cannot go into Colchester when international games are played.
Ian Elkins, CPS prosecutor, said: “The Crown Prosecution Service has recently updated its policy to tackle football hooliganism, and this is the first case of its kind in the region with this many defendants.
“Particularly in the run up to the World Cup we hope to be even more proactive in our work with the police to increase prosecutions of this nature and improve public confidence by dealing with this type of offending.”
Mr Elkins added: “This behaviour is threatening and intimidating and wholly unacceptable and we hope these banning orders will stop further offences of violence and disorder, in particular, in relation to Colchester United Football Club.
“We hope these youths take stock of their actions, which has intimidated genuine football fans and innocent passers by, and are deterred from similar behaviour in the future. “
- The defendants did not contest the evidence put forward by the CPS at yesterday's hearing. EADT24
BBC - Football 'wanted men' were actors
- Actors in the feature film The Firm that was premiered in London in September
Scotland Yard has apologised after actors from a hit film were mistakenly identified as football hooligans being sought after riots at a West Ham game.
Police issued 66 pictures of people supposedly caught on camera during violent clashes in August.
The images wrongly included stills of six actors from recent film The Firm.
A TV report was used to capture the images but because there was no sound officers did not realise it included clips from the hooligan-themed film.
Fan stabbed
Scotland Yard, who released the images on Tuesday, said: "Six images of individuals who were not involved in the violence were mistakenly included.
"These images appear to have been taken from a motion picture.
"We wish to apologise unreservedly to those affected. We are going to be actively trying to contact those people to offer our apologies."
A Millwall supporter was stabbed as fans clashed outside West Ham's Upton Park ground in east London after the home side won 3-1.
Police have arrested more than 40 people so far in connection with the trouble on 25 August.
The Firm, which was released last month, is set in football hooligans' 1980s heyday and is about a young man who joins a "firm" of thugs. BBC
Assorted Sites of Interest
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Football Observer can be reached at: footballobserver@hotmail.com
Forthcoming Football Observer Messageboard -
Some sites of interest:
- Companies House http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/
- Supporters Direct (The Supporters' Trust Initiative) - http://www.supporters-direct.org
- The Political Economy of Football - http://www.footballeconomy.com/reports.htm
- Clubs in Crisis - http://www.clubsincrisis.com/
- Deloitte Sports including Football Finances - http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_GB/uk/industries/
sportsbusinessgroup/index.htm
- Deloitte Annual Review of Football Finance - June 2009
http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_GB/uk/industries
/sportsbusinessgroup/article/b698526bd32fb110VgnVCM100000ba42f00aRCRD.htm
- Football Fan Census http://www.footballfanscensus.com/index.php
- Football Grounds Guide http://www.footballgroundguide.com/
- David Conn's Articles in The Guardian
http://browse.guardian.co.uk/search?search=david+conn&sitesearch-radio=guardian
- David Conn Guardian Blog Articles www.guardian.co.uk/profile/davidconn
- Association of Football Staticians - http://www.11v11.co.uk/index.php?pageID=1/
- Sports Business - http://www.sportbusiness.com/
- Football Writers Association
http://www.footballwriters.co.uk/
- A Number of Articles On these Subjects over the past year can be found sprinkled around
QPR SPECIFIC
- AKUTR's
- Boardroom Blues www.boardroomblues.co.uk/
- QPR1st Fan Trust - http://www.qpr1st.com
- Football Economy QPR - http://www.footballeconomy.com/stats2/eng_qpr.htm
Football Observer can be reached at: footballobserver@hotmail.com
Forthcoming Football Observer Messageboard -
Some sites of interest:
- Companies House http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/
- Supporters Direct (The Supporters' Trust Initiative) - http://www.supporters-direct.org
- The Political Economy of Football - http://www.footballeconomy.com/reports.htm
- Clubs in Crisis - http://www.clubsincrisis.com/
- Deloitte Sports including Football Finances - http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_GB/uk/industries/
sportsbusinessgroup/index.htm
- Deloitte Annual Review of Football Finance - June 2009
http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_GB/uk/industries
/sportsbusinessgroup/article/b698526bd32fb110VgnVCM100000ba42f00aRCRD.htm
- Football Fan Census http://www.footballfanscensus.com/index.php
- Football Grounds Guide http://www.footballgroundguide.com/
- David Conn's Articles in The Guardian
http://browse.guardian.co.uk/search?search=david+conn&sitesearch-radio=guardian
- David Conn Guardian Blog Articles www.guardian.co.uk/profile/davidconn
- Association of Football Staticians - http://www.11v11.co.uk/index.php?pageID=1/
- Sports Business - http://www.sportbusiness.com/
- Football Writers Association
http://www.footballwriters.co.uk/
- A Number of Articles On these Subjects over the past year can be found sprinkled around
QPR SPECIFIC
- AKUTR's
- Boardroom Blues www.boardroomblues.co.uk/
- QPR1st Fan Trust - http://www.qpr1st.com
- Football Economy QPR - http://www.footballeconomy.com/stats2/eng_qpr.htm
Football Observer Saturday
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The Guardian - Dominic Fifield guardian.co.uk, Friday 30 October 2009
Portsmouth take out £15m loan to pay players' wages• Funds used to pay players and buy time for refinancing
• Ali al-Faraj will not seek to sell club
Portsmouth confirmed today that they paid their players' salaries for October only after securing a £15m loan from Portpin Ltd, a company understood to be backed by the Hong Kong-based businessman Balram Chainrai, which they hope will allow them to stabilise the troubled club while the new owners find their feet.
Ali al-Faraj purchased Portsmouth almost a month ago after the club's previous owner Sulaiman al-Fahim – who is expected to attend Saturday's Premier League game against Wigan Athletic in his role as non-executive chairman – failed to meet the squad's salaries for September. The league's bottom side have avoided a repeat of that unhappy scenario by securing the short-term loan from Chainrai, with the influx of cash to be spent on the wages, totalling around £1.8m, and meeting costs to other creditors.
Faraj, whose brother Ahmed may also attendSaturday's game at Fratton Park, will effectively use the loan to buy him more time as he seeks to refinance the club. While he had shown an interest in purchasing Portsmouth from Alexandre Gaydamak in the summer, he ended up rushing through a deal for 90% of the club in four whirlwind days when Fahim's lack of available funds became clear, with the new owner now coming to terms with the structure of the business's current debts.
A transfer embargo imposed by the Premier League remains in place with Portsmouth in "ongoing dialogue" with Chelsea over the restructuring of payments still due on Glen Johnson's £4m transfer from Stamford Bridge in 2007. Agreement has been reached with Arsenal and Watford over fees owed for Lassana Diarra, the £5.5m midfielder now at Real Madrid, and the £1.8m forward Tommy Smith.
Yet, while Faraj is still determining how best to stabilise the club financially, he will not seek to sell to either Chainrai or Levi Kushnir, the businessmen who had also been part of the original consortium put together by the chief executive, Peter Storrie, and the agent Pini Zahavi back in August to purchase Pompey from Gaydamak. The pair have attended the team's last two games as guests of Ahmed al-Faraj, with Chainrai now providing the loan to ease the club's short-term concerns.
However, Storrie has stressed that neither is considered a potential new owner, or even a director, at Fratton Park, with Faraj – who has yet to attend a game in person – apparently set upon a long-term involvement on the south coast. Kushnir, who saw his holdings in three companies placed into receivership last week by a Tel Aviv district court, has stated that he has no intention to become involved at Portsmouth. "I've no connection to the club," he said. "These are stupid rumours."
Guardian
The Guardian - Dominic Fifield guardian.co.uk, Friday 30 October 2009
Portsmouth take out £15m loan to pay players' wages• Funds used to pay players and buy time for refinancing
• Ali al-Faraj will not seek to sell club
Portsmouth confirmed today that they paid their players' salaries for October only after securing a £15m loan from Portpin Ltd, a company understood to be backed by the Hong Kong-based businessman Balram Chainrai, which they hope will allow them to stabilise the troubled club while the new owners find their feet.
Ali al-Faraj purchased Portsmouth almost a month ago after the club's previous owner Sulaiman al-Fahim – who is expected to attend Saturday's Premier League game against Wigan Athletic in his role as non-executive chairman – failed to meet the squad's salaries for September. The league's bottom side have avoided a repeat of that unhappy scenario by securing the short-term loan from Chainrai, with the influx of cash to be spent on the wages, totalling around £1.8m, and meeting costs to other creditors.
Faraj, whose brother Ahmed may also attendSaturday's game at Fratton Park, will effectively use the loan to buy him more time as he seeks to refinance the club. While he had shown an interest in purchasing Portsmouth from Alexandre Gaydamak in the summer, he ended up rushing through a deal for 90% of the club in four whirlwind days when Fahim's lack of available funds became clear, with the new owner now coming to terms with the structure of the business's current debts.
A transfer embargo imposed by the Premier League remains in place with Portsmouth in "ongoing dialogue" with Chelsea over the restructuring of payments still due on Glen Johnson's £4m transfer from Stamford Bridge in 2007. Agreement has been reached with Arsenal and Watford over fees owed for Lassana Diarra, the £5.5m midfielder now at Real Madrid, and the £1.8m forward Tommy Smith.
Yet, while Faraj is still determining how best to stabilise the club financially, he will not seek to sell to either Chainrai or Levi Kushnir, the businessmen who had also been part of the original consortium put together by the chief executive, Peter Storrie, and the agent Pini Zahavi back in August to purchase Pompey from Gaydamak. The pair have attended the team's last two games as guests of Ahmed al-Faraj, with Chainrai now providing the loan to ease the club's short-term concerns.
However, Storrie has stressed that neither is considered a potential new owner, or even a director, at Fratton Park, with Faraj – who has yet to attend a game in person – apparently set upon a long-term involvement on the south coast. Kushnir, who saw his holdings in three companies placed into receivership last week by a Tel Aviv district court, has stated that he has no intention to become involved at Portsmouth. "I've no connection to the club," he said. "These are stupid rumours."
Guardian
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Articles of Interest - Sunday: Background of Birmingham's New Owner...Managers Unhappy With FA...The State of Scottish Sports Medicine
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The Telegraph Andrew Alderson and Malcolm Moore, in Hong Kong, October 11, 2009 - How did a Hong Kong barber take over Birmingham City FC? - He is the mysterious businessman behind the £80 million takeover of one of Britain’s biggest football clubs.
- Graham Spiers in The Times - October 10, 2009 - ‘Too many clubs don’t understand the whole issue of medical care’ ... One of Scotland’s leading sports surgeons spoke yesterday about the continuing instability in proper medical care for professional footballers, as well the current fad for “surgical tourism”, whereby Scottish players feel a need to go abroad for treatment rather than have the same procedure at home..."
Football League Managers Accuse FA of Failing Them. Jonathon Northcroft in The Times "...THE professional body representing England’s top managers has accused the FA of “a complete lack of focus and investment” in training and developing coaches.
Alex Ferguson Apologizes to the Referee
The Times looks at the finances of having the Ukraine-England Match Online
The Telegraph Andrew Alderson and Malcolm Moore, in Hong Kong, October 11, 2009 - How did a Hong Kong barber take over Birmingham City FC? - He is the mysterious businessman behind the £80 million takeover of one of Britain’s biggest football clubs.
- Graham Spiers in The Times - October 10, 2009 - ‘Too many clubs don’t understand the whole issue of medical care’ ... One of Scotland’s leading sports surgeons spoke yesterday about the continuing instability in proper medical care for professional footballers, as well the current fad for “surgical tourism”, whereby Scottish players feel a need to go abroad for treatment rather than have the same procedure at home..."
Football League Managers Accuse FA of Failing Them. Jonathon Northcroft in The Times "...THE professional body representing England’s top managers has accused the FA of “a complete lack of focus and investment” in training and developing coaches.
Alex Ferguson Apologizes to the Referee
The Times looks at the finances of having the Ukraine-England Match Online
