Stoke FA Cup Switch
The FA
Stoke City FC
Staffordshire police
The FA
FA's reply:
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to protest at the movement of the forthcoming Third Round tie between Stoke City and Millwall to 7.45 pm on Friday January 5th 2007. This will be the third successive such fixture switch inflicted upon Millwall fans.
The FA Cup is supposed to be fun and is supposed to be fair, but once again a tie involving Millwall Football Club will be played at an anti-social time for the majority of Lions followers. This gives an extra advantage to the home side by deterring away fans.
This is totally at odds with the spirit of the competition and has been done without any consultation with Millwall.
The reason for the change has been given as police advice that it clashes with the Port Vale v Bradford City fixture due to be played on Saturday January 6th 2007.
If this is so, then why was the game not played in daylight on the Sunday January 7th? One can only presume that the switch was made with the intention of deterring Millwall fans from travelling.
The Lions Trust is writing to the FA, Staffordshire Police as well as Stoke City FC to state our anger at this decision. As organisers and guardians of the traditions of the FA Cup, we feel that the Football Association should support the rights of supporters to watch their clubs at the traditional kick-off time of 3pm on Saturdays wherever possible.
Your comments on this matter will be appreciated.
Yours Sincerely
Nick Hart
Chair
The Lions Trust
Stoke City FC
Response from Stoke:
Staffs police preferred Friday night; Millwall were relaxed but it is fair to say noted that Sunday would be better for their supporters.; there was no consultation with supporter groups.
I made the decision, taking account of footballing, commercial and safety considerations.
I sense it is not a universally popular decision, particularly with Millwall supporters and I understand this. However, it is debatable that many more would have travelled on a Sunday.
That said, I accept that consultation is a good thing and in future we should probably at least involve the Fans Forum in our decision making process.
Dear Sir,
I am writing to protest at the movement of the forthcoming Third Round tie between Stoke City and Millwall to 7.45 pm on Friday January 5th 2007. This will be the third successive such fixture switch inflicted upon Millwall fans.
Once again an FA Cup tie involving Millwall Football Club will be played at an anti-social time for the majority of Lions followers and is totally at odds with the spirit of the competition.
The reason for the change has been given as police advice that it clashes with the Port Vale v Bradford City fixture due to be played on Saturday January 6th 2007.
If this is so, then why was the game not played in daylight on the Sunday January 7th? One can only presume that the switch was made with the intention of deterring Millwall fans from travelling.
The Lions Trust is writing to the FA, Staffordshire Police as well as Stoke City FC to state our anger at this decision. As a fellow Football League club, we feel that Stoke City should show a measure of consideration for the ordinary travelling supporter here.
Your comments on this matter will be appreciated.
Yours Sincerely
Nick Hart
Chair
The Lions Trust
Staffordshire Constabulary
Reply:
Thank you for your e-mail regarding the rescheduling of the Stoke City v Millwall football match. As you may realise, both Stoke City FC and Port Vale FC league clubs are located within the City of Stoke-on-Trent and have had a long standing protocol whereby neither Club plays at home on the same date.
There are two main reasons for this. Unfortunately the competition that exists between our local Clubs fans goes beyond simple rivalry, particularly in respect of the 'risk' supporters attached to both teams. Consequently, to prevent incidents of disorder throughout the City the Clubs do not play on the same date as the potential for disorder greatly increases if both Clubs 'Risk' groups, who are spread throughout the City are given the opportunity to gather together for the purposes of attending a scheduled home fixture.
In addition to this, both Clubs share key staff, i.e. the turnstile operators and trained stewards and therefore the Clubs would be unable to staff both matches on the same day.
With regard to games being played on Saturday 6th January 2007, Port Vale has a scheduled game at home to Bradford City, with a 1500 hours kick-off. When Stoke City FC received a home draw in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup the existing protocol arrangements came into play. Port Vale was the Club that last changed its home game date due to a clash in fixtures, thereby it was Stoke City FC's turn to change its fixture date.
It was felt to play the game on a Friday was the most appropriate given the protocol in place between the two Clubs. I hope I have been able to explain the rationale behind making such decisions.
Michael HARRISON
Divisional Commander
Stoke-on-Trent Police Division
Bethesda Street
Hanley
ST1 3DR
01785 233050
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Dear Sir,
I am writing to protest at the movement of the forthcoming Third Round tie between Stoke City and Millwall to 7.45 pm on Friday January 5th 2007. This will be the third successive such fixture switch inflicted upon Millwall fans.
Once again an FA Cup tie involving Millwall Football Club will be played at an anti-social time for the majority of Lions followers and is totally at odds with the spirit of the competition.
The reason for the change has been given as police advice that it clashes with the Port Vale v Bradford City fixture due to be played on Saturday January 6th 2007.
If this is so, then why was the game not played in daylight on the Sunday January 7th? One can only presume that the switch was made with the intention of deterring Millwall fans from travelling.
The Lions Trust is writing to the FA, Staffordshire Police as well as Stoke City FC to state our anger at this decision. Home Office figures show that Millwall fans are nowhere near the top of the arrest ‘league’ and I can see no justification for this move.
Your comments on this matter will be appreciated.
Yours Sincerely
Nick Hart
Chair
The Lions Trust
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