- Arsenal: This is the best it has been for the last 20 years.
- All we have to do now is keep being positive.
By Tony Attwood
We have lived through so many years of the media blaming those of us who like to go to football matches for just about everything that is not right in England, and with English society, it really does make a change for the press to wake up to the problem that is Paris Saint-Germain. We might argue that it is about time, but at least we can acknowledge they got there in the end.
PSG supporters are a problem. Not the only problematic supporters in Europe of course, but a particular problem nevertheless. Which itself raises an issue, for journalists across the continent love to blame English fans for anything that they (the media) can witness at no expense, and then pretend to be far worse than it is. And there is certain to be a lot that they won’t like in the Champions League final; Arsenal being there for a start.
The first problem is that although the Puskas Arena holds just over 67,000 spectators, only 39,000 of these are peoople are going to be fans, which is to say 19,500 to each club. Arsenal have 40,000 season ticket holders (and it is estimated that only about 400 season tickets become available each year through people giving up their tickets, mostly through passing away). So a lot of people who spend a fortune watching Arsenal each season are going to be told they are not welcome.
So even having a season ticket is not enough to guarantee you a seat at the Champs Final, and most certainly isn’t enough to guarantee you a hotel bed for the night. Prices for a bed in a hotel actually in the city are said already to be over £1000 for the night and rising steadily.
Of course, the big scandal is that only 39,000 tickets out of 67,215 are reserved for fans – making it quite clear as happens most years, that this match is an event for the toffs and owners, with the real fans being allowed along just to provide a bit of a show – some singing and perhaps some flag waving. Indeed, the broadcasters who feed the pictures to countries around the world have contracts that specifically state that no crowd trouble inside or outside the ground might be shown.
Now Arsenal fans do have a long tradition of telling the footballing authorities what we think of them – one remembers with much affection the chanting of “you can stick your fucking two points up your arse” in 1991 for example. (In case you are a younger reader, I should explain that the club was docked two points in ludicrous circumstances, but went on to win the league, and those of us there made sure then and ever since the League knew what we thought of them.
Although actually the number of tickets Arsenal will get is less than this, since Fifa has now announced that it will sell 4600 tickets to the general public via a lottery, although just how much the conniving buggers (Fifa not the general public) are going to charge for these tickets is quite unclear. Nor indeed is it clear if one has to pay to enter the ballot.
There is, of course, always a concern about violence at these matches, which is one of the reasons given for restricting the number of fans from the competing clubs, and the French government has already weighed in on this score, condemning the violence in Paris after PSG qualified.
According to the minister for such things, 127 people were arrested in and around Paris after the match finished, and 11 members of the public and 23 police officers were hurt. So Arsenal fans who have spent their lifetime savings getting a ticket for the final need to be careful. Some (but by no means all) French fans can be violent, and the blame for any violence is often unfairly placed on Englsih fans, because, well, it is.
In the centre of Paris, everything from cars to rubbish bins can be set alight when PSG win something and the police (being the French police) fire tear gas in response. It is a tradition.
But we should remember that after PSG’s victory last season, two people died in France in the celebrations. This time, after the semi-final, over 30 were taken to hospital. From this, we may conclude that PSG have taken the notion of supporters being the preverbial bunch of hearty roughs to a new level. Be ready for Arsenal fans to be blamed!
The French police have announced that “No disturbances will be tolerated. There will always be a very firm response.” And that, remember, is just in Paris.
I’m not clear where Arsenal fans in London will be gathering for the game – Hyde Park is usually a favourite venue, or maybe Trafalgar Square. If you know what’s being organised please do write in. If you have lots of details to share, please turn it into an article and send it to me for publication on this site. Email: Tony@schools.co.uk
I’ve reached an age where I need to sit down before, during and after a game, but I’m happy to pass on any thoughts.
