Category: HCST News

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CTWD ask Humberside Police for Europa League calm

 

City Till We Die ask that the Europa League Play-off round game between Hull City and Lokeren on Thursday is policed sensibly. Mistakes made by the Belgian police after the first leg should not be repeated and genuine Lokeren fans should not be subjected to an inappropriate police response.We were appalled by reports of Hull City fans, many of whom were CTWD members, being herded by Belgian Police past a pub containing people who were banned from attending the game, with some fans suffering minor injuries as bottles and glasses were thrown.

This resulted in an accusatory statement from Humberside Police focusing mainly on the arrest of three Hull City fans and threatening that “The disorder witnessed last night will be taken into account as the return leg approaches and we will police the match accordingly”. 

The statement did not take into account the particular circumstance surrounding a frightening, but isolated, incident. Hull City fans found the vast majority of Lokeren fans to be hospitable and friendly and insist that the incident did not detract from the otherwise excellent experience.

The level of policing for football matches is set by a Safety Advisory Group (SAG). Every club has such a group which is made up of representatives of the club, the stadium, the council and the police. It is the feeling of CTWD that there should be fan representation on Hull City’s SAG – as other clubs have. This would allow the concerns of fans to be expressed during the consultation on each game and ensure informed input on matters such as segregation, stewarding and the amount of police present in and around the stadium.

In the meantime, we would therefore ask that the innocent Lokeren fans who will be travelling to the city for the return game are welcomed with the same level of hospitality as Hull City fans enjoyed in Belgium. The mistakes made by the Belgian police should not be repeated by our local force and Lokeren fans should not have their experience of football in this country soured by heavy-handed policing.

Any Hull City fans who have concerns over their treatment by police or stewards at any football match can contact the Football Supporters’ Federation through their website www.fsf.org.uk/

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CTWD statement on club badge

CTWD is hugely disappointed that the club has chosen to introduce a new badge without any consultation with supporters, especially having promised that consultation would take place.

There is no reasonable rationale for changing a badge that has been proudly worn by Hull City players who, in its existence, have achieved four promotions, top-flight football and reached an FA Cup Final.

Ehab Allam states that due to time constraints “consultation with the fans about the new crest wasn’t possible”. This is, quite simply, untrue. This redesign has not happened overnight. A supporter consultation could have easily, and quickly, been conducted if the club wanted it. By not asking its loyal customers the club has reneged on a promise made in a statement on 9 August 2013 that a “new badge, to be used from the 2014-15 season, will be designed and created in consultation with fans”.

We also take issue with Ehab Allam’s claim that changing the badge “celebrates the Club’s heritage and history”. Over the past year, the current owners have demonstrated exactly what they think of Hull City’s heritage by their attempt to change its very name. Season card holders have already remarked that their renewal forms did not bear the name of the club, nor is Hull City mentioned anywhere in this club statement. CTWD maintains that the reason the badge is being changed is simply because it contains the words “Hull City AFC”.

It now appears, bizarrely, that the owners of Hull City do not want to use the name of the club because the FA refused them leave to change it. This is remarkable. It also makes commercial nonsense. We fear that many supporters have already been put off renewing their season cards for the coming campaign due to the sudden price hike. We are now very concerned about a further loss of revenue as people refuse to buy merchandise that does not show the name of the club.

CTWD calls on the Allams to reverse their decision to change the badge for the coming current season and to start treating the club’s supporters – its customers -with respect. If the club wishes to introduce a new badge, let it do so in conjunction with, and not in spite of, its fans – the lifeblood of Hull City AFC.

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Response to FA Decision, 9th April 2014

The City Till We Die (CTWD) campaign group is delighted to learn that the Football Association (FA) have decided to reject the application from Assem and Ehab Allam to change the name of our club from Hull City AFC to Hull Tigers. We are very pleased that the FA have recognised the importance of the historic name of Hull City AFC to the fans and the wider community of Hull and have not been persuaded that a name change would be in the best interests of supporters of the club and the club itself. We would like to thank the FA for conducting a process that we believe has been fair and equitable, allowing the owners, the fans groups and other interested stakeholders to have their say on this matter. We would also like to thank the tens of thousands of Hull City AFC supporters, and the countless number of people from the wider football family across Britain and beyond, who have backed and encouraged us throughout this campaign. This is truly a victory for the fans.

We are sorry that, in the midst of what may be Hull City AFC’s most successful season in its 110 year history that we have had to be so consumed by off the field matters. Now that the FA, the arbiters and regulators of football have ruled on this matter, City Till We Die regard this decision as final and that the matter is now closed. We are very happy we can now look forward to concentrating on the remainder of the season by focussing on the magnificent efforts of Steve Bruce and the team as they continue to prosper in the Premier League and prepare for a visit to Wembley in the semi-final of the FA Cup. Beyond this, we are looking forward to next season and continuing to progress as Hull City AFC with, we hope, the Allam family continuing their stewardship of the club.

City Till We Die Campaign Group.

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CITY TILL WE DIE MEETING WITH FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION

City Till We Die, a community group representing a broad range of Hull City AFC supporter organisations, met with the Football Association on Monday 3 February to discuss owner Dr Assem Allam’s application to change the club’s playing name to “Hull Tigers” from the 2014-2015 season. City Till We Die were requested to make a submission to the FA as part of their consultation with stakeholders.

The meeting took place at Wembley from 3.15pm to 5.45pm. There to represent City Till We Die (CTWD) were three members of the CTWD group. Present to hear the submission were representatives of the FA. A 30 minute presentation was followed by a two hour discussion.

Our submission to the FA has now been made public. It comprises four parts:

The FA were also shown a petition against the name change, addressed to Dr Allam, which has gathered over 15,000 signatories.

Out of respect for the FA’s ongoing consultation process (and in accordance with their wishes), City Till We Die will not be discussing any further details of Monday’s meeting.

City Till We Die would like to thank the FA for giving us the opportunity to express the viewpoint of the majority* of Hull City supporters, who wish the club to retain our 110-year-old name. We trust they will act to protect the history and traditions of not only our club, but also others whose identities could come under threat in the future should such arbitrary rebranding become a commonplace occurrence.

If you would like to speak to a City Till We Die spokesperson regarding our submission to the FA, please email contact@citytillwedie.com

* For more details of polling data, see here.