Forest Green fans leave ground after being told to mind their language
I'm not sure what to make of this. If you carry on effing and jeffing in front of kids after being told to stop, you get what's coming to you, but is this also not part of the reason why clubs have family sections (which FGR don't seem to have)? Rightly or wrongly, swearing is a part of football and impossible to eradicate entirely - where do you draw the line?
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It’s surprisingly easy to enjoy a football match without screaming obscenities into the ears of children. And I say this as someone who actually enjoys a bit of creative swearing.
Reminds me of the time St Martin came and told the Valley End to tone it down a bit at half-time.
I'll hold my hands up, I swear way too much ! But I do pride myself in not doso in front of children, they will learn it all quick enough as they grow up but they dont need adults speeding it up
Not doing so.... I'm meant to say, sorry fat fingers
Kettering in 1990
"you're the best bloody supporters in the country, but can you tone down the swearing a little bit"
@eric_plant was it that game? Wow. One of the great matches. That was the moment I thought something special was going on. Runaway League leaders come to town (100% record to that point?), thrashed 5-1. Chuck saves a penalty.
West scored 4 didn't he?
Martin must have learnt from the master.
There’s a fine line that needs to be observed when it comes to swearing.
A little bit is fine, in appropriate parts of stadiums, especially if part of an incentive chant or borne of genuine, sudden frustration rather than interminable, mindless abuse.
They were probably being really obnoxious and vile if stewards intervened.
I was told off for swearing in the Frank Adams once.
Had to point out to the guy "frig sake" is not swearing in fairness, unless your swear list covers about 200 words.
I partially suppressed a FFS at the Coventry match.
I didn't suppress it when we let in the second goal curtesy of Sido A very rare lapse on my part. I think only Mrs 67 heard it and she understood my pain. When I have sat in the family stand on occasion I have managed to curb anything that might offend . Football is a passionate game and emotions will sometimes prevail.
Didn’t Ivor Beeks introduce a swearing ban at Adams Park once ?
The Valley End responded with an endless chorus of “ We’ll f@*king swear if we want to, swear if we want to........etc”
I'd draw it pretty much where this case seems to have done it. Constant swearing in front of children is not acceptable
Absolutely, I just wonder if any club would ever implement a zero tolerance approach to swearing regardless of the age of spectators in the vicinity (I suspect not, as half the ground - myself included sometimes - would be kicked out).
I would not swear in the family stand but have been known to do it in the beechdean...after all its only the players families near us and we pay their wages! (stop typing now that was a joke...)
Children often swear in front of me.
Understandable. Presumably didn't care for the sweet you gave them at half-time.
I once sat in the family stand for an Oxford-Swindon match. The language from the two mums behind us, with their young kids, would have made Liam Gallagher blush.
Here's WWFC official policy:
"The use of threatening behaviour, foul or abusive language, as well as racial, homophobic or discriminatory abuse, chanting or harassment, is strictly forbidden and will result in arrest and/or ejection from the ground. The club may impose a ban for one or more matches.”
As far as I know, never enforced. There are referee induced swearers, player induced swearers and habitual swearers. I try to avoid the latter and as I'm on the terrace that's quite easy to do. Not so easy if you're seated.
Will be a half empty ground if enforced. After growing up on the terrace both at LP and now at AP where swearing was the norm, I now sit in the FA and try to avoid swearing as much as poss, forcing myself to think creatively in my shouts at the opposition team/fans etc, sometimes however the excitement and drama get the better of me and the odd swear springs forth. Luckily where I am in the FA there aren't any/many kids, except for the big games such as Ipswich where the occasionals pop up and with many kids around I really try to keep it clean....depends on how many ipas I have in the Vere pre match as to how successful I am.
I recall going to Northampton a few years ago and as the Wycombe end was sold out I got a ticket in their family stand along with a cobbler mate, Blooms got hacked down right in front of us and a guy sat with two youngsters in front of us stood up and shouted "get up Bloomfield you cheating c*nt!" No one around seemed phased and this was the family stand! Cobblers? No it's true.......
Hard not to celebrate the Mawson last minute winner from the Northampton end that day, although made easier by results elsewhere.
They have to cover themselves of course, but if this was actually applied, half the terrace would be booted out.
Exactly. No club or public event operator can be seen to be allowing public order offences. But whether they actively police it themselves is a different matter.
The official policy and its application is eminently sensible. Rightly or wrongly there are 'norms' of supporter behaviour at most football games that are generally accepted by those around them. Unreasonably cracking down on this would be somewhat counter-productive and lead to unnecessary friction between fans and the authority (the club). What it does allow for however is for the club to step in when someone, or a group of people, go beyond the limits of what would be normally acceptable in that context.
Having said all that I do quite admire FGR's approach. I think its quite brave of them to try and improve the civility of a football crowd. In 30 years' time when we're watching our Boxing Day fixture in balmy 20 degree temperatures, eating our meat-substitute burgers and congratulating the God of VAR for disallowing a clearly offside by 3 nano-metres goal we can raise a glass of Vegan IPA to Forest Green Rovers and their pioneering ideas.
As I mentioned on another thread, I've been to a couple of Haringey Boro games and they have all but eradicated swearing. None happens in the chanting at all.
You do hear the odd bad word uttered and no-one minds, but any more than that and the crowd actively police it and crack down on it themselves.
You could say its gentrification, sanitisation, middle classes invading football etc. But their atmosphere is really, really good. More singing than most League One/Two clubs.
Next...kids who spend 90 minutes slamming a chair up and down while mother texts seemingly oblivious to the racket...
If I enjoyed going to a happy clapping sing a long I'd get a season ticket for the panto.
There's obviously limits, and they do get overstepped by plenty of idiots, but the passion - even the "bad" bits which go into anger and vitriol are what separates football from every other sport from a fans POV, I never want to lose that for the sake of perceived political correctness.
I quite agree. I wouldn't go to Haringey even semi-regularly, partly because it is a little too wholesome for me. I like it a bit grittier.
But it doesn't ruin the atmosphere encouraging people to think about at least the frequency of their bad language.
Most people don't mind a bit of shouting and angry words at times at games, especially in the designated "rough uns" end.
It's when people start getting used to shouting abuse, and start thinking it's fine outside the ground. Like our ketchup nosed friend the other year.