It’s not the first time this season that Bray Wanderers has seen anti-social behaviour from their supporters. It’s also not the first time this season that the League of Ireland has seen anti-social behaviour.
In March Drogheda United had to issue a statement when a section of the home support went onto the pitch and approached away fans.
https://droghedaunited.ie/club-statement/
Derry City revealed in March that the use of flares at matches had cost the club €3,000 and issued a warning of lifetime bans for fans who persist with anti-social activity.
https://www.derrycityfc.net/2022/04/club-matchday-safety-security-update/
Increase in Flares at Games
Unfortunately there has been an increase in the misuse of flares from supporters all throughout the league since the return from lockdown. We could post paragraph after paragraph of club statements condemning the actions of these brain dead idiots.
Those at Bishopsgate who attacked club stewards, threw flares at players on the pitch and broke stadium seats are not football fans. They are purely and simply there to look for trouble. Their actions are premeditated.
This is now a football problem in Ireland but it’s certainly not exclusive to the sport we love. This is a societal issue that is not being addressed. In fact the head is in the sand from all concerned.
We see these gangs of young adolescents or young adults hanging around our local shops. We see them intimidate women, children and pensioners. All while they have their hands down their crotch.
What is with the hand down the crotch thing? It’s disgusting! If I caught my son walking around with his had down his crotch he would know about it very quickly indeed.
Parents
The problem this country has now is parents are not parenting anymore. The new politically correct parent fears telling their child ‘No’!
I see parents consistently bow to the demands of their ever demanding child without a thought of what is good or bad for the child’s development. I see parent’s laugh off inexcusable behaviour from their children and not correcting them.
We are seeing more and more spoilt children roam our streets who have not been thought about morals and lack common decency. Don’t get me wrong, there are more good kids than bad. The issue is that the small percentage of lawlessness at these ages is climbing fast.
We see more kids kicking down front doors, harassing families and beating up younger boys and girls for the fun of it. They actually get a buzz of intimidating people.
You Can Say No!
During the first weeks of the first lockdown when no-one knew what covid was all about, we seen terrifying scenes from Italian hospitals of people dying and unable to breath. We were asked to stay in and avoid other families to stop the spread of covid.
A neighbour of ours from across the gardens let it be known that her teenage daughter was out with her friends. She mentioned she didn’t want her to head out for fears that covid would strike her house, but in her words ‘what can I do?’.
This is very problem. You can parent that’s what you can do! You can tell the child what is acceptable and not acceptable. You can say ‘No’. Its not a bad word. Parents are afraid to say no to their kids in fear of them getting upset. Just giving them what they want so as the complaining stops. It’s happening throughout the developing ages.
These so called ‘supporters’ who trash stadiums, who look for fights and who lack any respect are the creation of failed parenting. Parents who don’t know where their thirteen year old is at eleven o’clock at night. I see it all the time now.
Tip of the Iceberg
Without doubt there is a higher percentage of children roaming in packs with the wrong intentions. Their so called parents unaware of their whereabouts. Just happy to not have to listen to the son or daughters demands to be entertained. Washing their hands of responsibility to educate their kids on respecting others.
I could point fingers at the lack of facilities for children in many areas. I could look at the farcical laws protecting violent and abusive teens. The garda have little power to combat anti-social behaviour on our streets.
These teens know this all to well. These teens also turn into young adults, then adults and retain their lack of morals. How will this affect the League of Ireland? Is this only the tip of the iceberg?
Those who travelled to Longford last night went with one thought in their mind and it wasn’t to support Bray Wanderers. They wanted trouble. Even with video evidence do you think their parents will do enough to correct their future behaviour?
The anti-social behaviour that has spilled into our football grounds is not caused by Bray Wanderers. It is not caused by clubs like Drogheda United, Derry City or Shamrock Rovers. It is not a product of the League of Ireland. These clubs need our help. We as a country and in our communities need to take the head out of the sand and start making people accountable for their actions… or lack of it in this case.
A fantastic article. Well thought out. What about the real fans of BW and other clubs it’s absolutely heart ❤️ breaking. Been supporting bray since 1990
And never never Seen anything like what’s happening now. We had a song 🎵 years ago. One of the lines went Were respected wherever we go. BUT unfortunately not any more. Rant over