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Cambridge United are launching a new venture this weekend which will allow fans to text the police control room at the Abbey Stadium if they have any concerns about racism or anything else that affects the football league ground regulations.
Although the Abbey Stadium possibly has never had a major problem with crowd issues, it is a step forward for the club to take especially when many fans in every stadium are sometimes a little wary about reporting incidents because they do not want the hassle that will almost inevitable ensue. Although 99%+ of the people that attend matches would back any actions to report incidents such as coin throwing many will stand back and just ignore what could happen if someone is seen to be pointing out someone who say has thrown an object – a problem we know all to well about.
However, the ability to just sit/stand there and text the police control room looks innocuous enough and could result in people being ejected, and banned, from the ground. We have seen numerous incidents of the linesman in front of the North Bank having objects thrown at him in recent years and it has cost the club money and will continue to do so.
Cambridge Stadium Manager and Safety Officer Ian Darler commented, “There may have been occasions in the past where supporters have been worried about coming forward to report their concerns. This initiative will allow them to report any problems without fear.” Although there is a danger that some supporters could abuse the scheme, Ian says that anyone doing so would face the consequences. “The technology we’re using means that we can easily identify anyone abusing the system,” he stressed. This is certainly a system that maybe more clubs should be looking to implement especially if it can identify those fans that do throw objects onto the pitch during the match itself. Any initiative that can eradicate this kind of behaviour has to be welcomed and well done to Cambridge for taking the lead on this. For anyone wondering what the Football League Ground regulations are, they can be found by clicking here |
