Lucky for them

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7602041.stm


Hundreds of football fans have had trouble getting into Scotland's World Cup qualifier against Macedonia.

Riot police arrived at the stadium after up to 1,000 supporters were told their tickets were not valid.

Jenny Watson, from Musselburgh, was given tickets by player Kenny Miller but was not allowed in and said disappointed fans headed back to town.

The SFA said some fans had bought briefs for the Macedonian section and were refused entry.

The first qualifier of Scotland's World Cup campaign was taking place at the City Stadium in Skopje, with Scotland losing 1-0.


Ms Watson told BBC Scotland a few of her friends got in ahead of her but then police began turning fans away, telling them their tickets were invalid.

She said: "At one point we were stuck between one set of riot police and another just outside the stadium and we couldn't move, we were just kind of stuck there.

"One of our friends was on the other side and when he tried to move through to join us he had a baton held to him.

"We all like to make comments about the SFA being disorganised but the SFA are a dream compared to this - the way that the police were behaving was completely out of order."

Ms Watson said that with four lines of riot police fans had tried waving their tickets but were still turned back and headed into town to get a beer and watch the game on television.


Macedonian riot police were in place at the City Stadium
SFA security advisor Derek Kirkwood said travel club members had been allowed entry with no problems.

But he added: "There's probably about another thousand who have come over to Macedonia in the hope of maybe getting tickets for the match and they've been buying them off people in the street.

"Unfortunately, they're for the Macedonian section of the stadium and the police commander in charge of the event is not allowing these people in."

Mr Kirkwood said the SFA had made representations before the game to let these fans in but the efforts were refused on safety grounds.

The stadium has had building work ongoing meaning only part of the ground was in use.

DJP,ya bampot,What do you mean?

Methinx the "fake tan" scam may have backfired.

Good job by the coppers I reckon, they were keeping the Tartan Army safe, in their view.

I was there and DJP and SMITHERS CAN F-CK OFF as your not in the least bit funny

You can always jump on the Andy Murray bandwagon, cheap flight to New York, then a quick visit to Bloomingdale's perfume section before the big match.

You are a fud and big and brave from behind a keyboard but i bet you wouldnt say any of this pish that you spout to the 100s INC WOMEN AND KIDS who never got in because macedonia couldnt the tkts situation properly.

fair enough

any scotland fans that managed to get in the away end would have been eaten alive IMO
as the macedonian authorities admitted themselves they were turned away for their own safety

Woah chill out fella, there was a smilie icon, due to fortunate fact they were not subjected to watch the dire 1st half. I to have been in the situation where I have not been allowed into grounds at football. Not the nicest thing in the world, but when the authorities have made there mind up, Not much you can do.

I posted the main topic, to highlight however that so many fans did not get in

If you have a ticket for the home end and didn't get in then Macedonia were handling the tickets situation perfectly.

Why do idiots insist on going to games that they don't have tickets for?

While it would appear some with away tickets never got in, from what I have read it was mainly those who bought home end tickets that are complaining.

They have nothing to complain about. Indeed, it is these people who would have led to their fellow supporters with genuine away tickets not getting in.

I was suspicious when I heard the spin at the weekend that it was all fans who had purchased tickets for the away end who were turned away.

If you and the women and children had bought the tickets from the correct sources and listened to what the authorities were telling you, instead of buying fake tan and Macedonia tops then, yes, I would have some sympathy for you. As a Liverpool supporter, I'm sure you will only be too aware of what can happen in such situations.

As much as following Scotland away is a great laugh, the first thing I do when see the away fixtures is to check if they're playing in a 2nd world country. Macedonia falls into this category and it's inevitable that your going to come across some form of heavy policing or corruptness. Still a pisser all the same as these people have spent a whole load of dosh getting there and pumped a load more into their economy.

No sympathy at all. You shouldn't be attempting to gain entry to the ground unless you have a ticket via the Travel Club.

Of course Scotland fans who went over and had not tickets should have done what they did and chanced their arm at getting into the home end. That’s not the problem to me, the problem is the outrage when they didn’t get in.

Nae luck Tartan fuds!

Why bother travelling all that way to a 3rd world backwater?

The look of all those kilt wearing halfwits behind the goal made me sick, I'm glad some of the people stupid enough to buy tickets for the home end got turned away. It was also pleasing to hear that the police were hostile towards the "Tartan Army" - act like scum and you will get treated like scum.

The Tartan Army - scum of the earth.

OK

Agree with all

Makes me laugh with the Justice badge in avater yet 100's of fans try and get into un-designated area's. So should troubled have erupted causing a mass stampede "all those poor women and kids" would have got battered.

Whilst I am sure some genuine ticket holders got turned away, the rest got what they were asking for.

Women and kids shouldn't be allowed into the football anyway. I applaud the authorities in Macedonia.

Your posts are great.

Quite right, too.

The Tartan Army seem to have this view that they're exempt from the laws binding fans going to any other sporting event in the world ever. The Macedonian police were very clear for weeks before the game itself in their statements that they wouldn't be letting Scotland fans into the home end and that they wouldn't be accepting illegally bought tickets.

As always, the Tartan Army decided to try it anyway in the expectation that everyone would for some reason lie down and let them do whatever they liked. No sympathy at all for them. I've sat in the home end before at games where the Hearts end sold out, but if you get refused entry in that situation then it's just something that you have to take on the chin. There are no grounds for complaint whatsoever for being told not to go to somewhere that you're not supposed to go to.

I echo the same sentiments as most of the posts on this thread. Whilst the Tartan Army might think their cheeky capers will endear themselves to all that they meet, the simple truth is that the Macedonian authorities were very clear about ticketing arrangements for this match and would not tolerate a thousand foreign football fans in their home supporters end.

Had to also laugh at that clown Leckie in today's paper. He reckoned home fans should have moved to accomodate Scotland fans in end sections. I suppose he would be equally happy if a thousand Man Utd fans attempted to enter the Celtic ends at next months CL match or if a thousand drunken Dutch fans entered Hampden and wanted to sit in the Scottish end. Total Fud!

Correct.

Wrong. Well, in the real world anyway.

Serves them right.

The headlines at the weekend where a joke, Tartan army in gun terror! it's laughable. not one picture in the press showed the police actually wearing there riot gear, the only picture of anything resembling a gun was actually a device for firing c.s gas, not live ammunition. The Macedonian authorities where simply obeying their rules on segregation, their not to know the T.A are a bunch of harmless pheasant worrying gonks. Incidently I wonder what headline's the press would have printed if it was Chelsea or Man Utd fans on champions league duty trying to enter the wrong end .

Aye good for you ya fucking walloper.

I was there and had a home end ticket but managed to get in after someone i know over there came out and escorted me into the stadium and through the tunnel and along the pitch. So i was lucky.

when people booked this trip it was a 20000 seater stadium and fears over tickets weren't a problem. What would you do if yu've spent £400+ on everything and then hearing you haven't a ticket because the capacity is down to 11000? Fucking exactly, so dont act like a nob.

Every local i spoke to after the game were raging at the antics of the police. They were so happy the Tartan Army had travelled over, pumped so much money into the econmy, donated £15,000 to childrens charitys and gave the city lots and lots to smile about with their impecable behaviour and fun. They can't belive the police turned us away as there would ahve been no problems at the game and there were no problems for the lucy ones who were in the south stand. The locals even went as far as saying that their police were racist against the scots and their would be no problem with the dutch being in the south stand which is where they are.

So fucking bite me ya dick.

Well i'll tell you first hand, they all had guns strapped to their side, they never drew them but i seen a few white their hands on their holster's incase they had draw them.

The riot police were looking for a fight and i for one am proud to come from a country that never gave them one.


Scotlands anthem was the first one which had been totally respect with no booing or not being clapped after.

Well i'll tell you first hand, they all had guns strapped to their side, they never drew them but i seen a few white their hands on their holster's incase they had draw them.

The riot police were looking for a fight and i for one am proud to come from a country that never gave them one.


Scotlands anthem was the first one which had been totally respect with no booing or not being clapped after.

They still tried to break the law.

Well personally if I'd paid all the money for the trip only to be disappointed, I'd try and get into the home end. So would most people, I imagine.

What most people wouldn't do, though, is act like spoilt children when they didn't get in - what makes you think that you or anyone else has the divine right to be somewhere that they aren't actually supposed to be?

...so fucking bite me ya dick. Or something.

Yes, it's an absolute pisser if you fork out a fortune planning a trip and miss out on a ticket for the away end, I'm fascinated to hear that entitles you to a ticket in the Macedonian end though.

I'm struggling to see what you've reported as seeing first hand that was so outrageous about the police's behaviour. By the sounds of it they performed their job well, ie. Kept as many away fans out of the home end as possible without incident.

Hilarious stuff.

I think "enjoy the scenery" would be my advice if you book a trip away and don't secure an away end ticket.

I'd also not be so stupid in future to book a trip without knowing you were going to get a ticket. I have no sympathy for them at all.

I'll bite yer dick anytime bigboy!

Anyway you still turned up at the stadium despite knowing that the chances were that you were not going to get in, you and all of the others got exactly what you deserved. You wouldn't try and enter the home end at Old Trafford wearing a Liverpool strip and cheering on the Scousers and you wouldn't try it at Ibrox with a Cellicfooballclub strip on so why do some Scottish morons insist on trying it in foreign climes?

Yes, I suspect the chase for cheap air fares probably necessitated doing that.

Having done so though, the "you pays yer money, you takes yer chance" principle applies. Hell mend them, as my maw would say.

However, if you wait until confirmation is given that you have a ticket from the SFA, the copst of travelling would normally shoot up i.e. increased flight prices, hotel prices etc.

It's the risk that has to be taken. I would never in a million years wait until I heard from Celtic if I had a ticket or not, prior to booking up for an away game. Christ, for some games they only let you know a week or so in advance.

Yes but it wasn't organised well at all, up until 5 minutes before the game the word from the police on the ground was yes you will all get in. Then it was no. Leaving people curshing to see TV's at the ground, rushing back to the main square to find a pub and just generally being unhelpful at all.

What shoudl have happened was have the police tell us when we're at the main square we weren't getting in, stopping people further away from the stadium with barriers letting only those with official SSC tickets through to the stadium grounds.



What by letting people in by taking bribes of abut 20 euro's a person? Drawing batons out and waving them about, telling people to go to a certian area as they will all get in and causing a mass crush.

Its not what they were trying to do, its the way the police went away about it. Past travelling fans such as the Germans and English by the sounds of it from locals have probably worked against us, as the police only seen 3000+ scotland fans coming and expected the same.

I can't think of many countries that would tolerate hordes of visiting fans trying to get into the home section, whether they had legitmate tickets or not. The fact that most of the TA would have been well oiled wouldn't have helped their cause much either.

Let's hope in all of this mayhem, that Hamish Husband was able to see the game

Although if you can afford to spend 400quid or so to go there in the first place...... and all you are doing is going to see the game (if it is THAT important) then, as you say, you can't have any complaints about not getting to see the game if you don't know you have a ticket. If you are paying for the experience of going over - good. GO over, find a pub to watch the game, enjoy the trip, come home.

I can't think of many countries that would tolerate hordes of visiting fans trying to get into the home section, whether they had legitimate tickets or not. The fact that most of the TA would have been well oiled wouldn't have helped their cause much either.

I wonder what the Glasgow police would do if 1000 pished Norwegians demanded to get in beside the Scottish fans at Hampden next month?

\

Great, lets blame the English for some fans not getting to see the game with tickets they shouldn't have.

Priceless.

I'm glad you've added some arms and legs now. I'm disappointed to hear Scotland fans resorted to bribery, think of our reputation.

The police and Macedonian footballing authorities were quoted in all of the papers before the game as saying that Scotland fans wouldn't be allowed into the home end. What then appears to have happened is that Scotland fans tried anyway, on the principle that if thousands of them were to try it then no-one could stop them.

In their place, I wouldn't have acted any differently, it's the bleating about being treated unfairly which is hard to take.

Edit : It's nice to see that England and Germany are now being brought into the equation as well as a reason why Scotland fans didn't get in. Saw it was Rangers yesterday, what next? Conspiracy? Aliens? The fact that they were away fans and were trying to get into the designated home end?

Yes, glasnost has a point that it's only to be expected this is what fans will do. Wave a few quid at the locals and nab their tickets. Happens all the time.

What you can't then do is complain about the ticket being a forgery or the local filth telling you to GetTae... both are the way it goes.

I'm only repeating what the locals have been telling us after the game that the police have acted on whats happened previously at games. I've never heard of any trouble with the England fans in Skopje, yesterday was the first time i'd heard of it, i also mentioned Germany, good to see you picked up on that one too or did you leave it out on purpose.




Well locally the word on the street and papers was that the british embassy, kirkwood and the FFM had all got together and it was decided that all scotland fans would be let in.

What papers was this reported in?

The Tartan Army in Macedonia gazette?