Mon 9th Aug 1999

Mon 9th Aug 1999 - FA and FAW to hold enquiries

Cardiff City Football Club over the weekend made national news headlines through all aspects of the media. I along with the majority of Cardiff and Millwall fans feel sickened by the whole scenario. Now the football authorities will hold enquiries. Cardiff, if found to have been negligent, could find themselves being fined or be forced to play matches behind closed doors. Any punishemt issued against the Club will hurt the ability of the Club to invest in its playing staff, that in turn will affect the performances. Dont these people realise the damage they do? They are supposed to be fans. I hope that everyone learns from this. On Tuesday night we play Q.P.R. in a Worthington Cup clash. It's a glamourous tie for Cardiff City and a chance to prove ourselves against higher opposition. Lets make it an evening to remember for the right reasons.

Report from The Daily Mirror.
CARDIFF CITY insisted last night they should not be blamed for the violence which marred Saturday's game against Millwall.

The Welsh club will be reported to the Football Association by referee Peter Walton over the riots that wrecked their return to the Second Division.

But Cardiff will contest any claim that the incidents were the club's fault.

Chairman Steve Borley said last night: "We do not believe the blame can be put at our door.

"We did all we could to prevent any crowd trouble. We had 50 police inside the ground on top of the large presence of our stewards.

"And we made the game all-ticket so that the two clubs could monitor where tickets were sold.

"If we discover the names of any of our supporters who were responsible for any trouble, they will be banned."

Privately, Cardiff are determined that the FA should take part of the blame for allowing such a potentially volatile fixture to take place on the opening day of the season.

Both clubs have a notorious hooligan element among their followings with reputations for violence that are among the worst in the league.

Cardiff feel that pitting the sides against each other on the opening day of the season, when a huge crowd was guaranteed at Ninian Park, was almost an invitation to trouble.

There were also rumours that Millwall fans were hell-bent on revenge for violence that broke out in London when the clubs met in the Auto Windscreens Shield last season. The FA of Wales announced yesterday they would be investigating whether Cardiff were at fault. Alun Evans, chairman of the FAW's disciplinary committee, said they would try to establish
whether Cardiff's preparations had been up to scratch.

Meanwhile, officials from Swansea City will meet police urgently before Millwall return to Wales for a Worthington Cup tie at the Vetch Field on Wednesday.

Borley said of Saturday's scenes: "It's too early to say what went on but the incidents were a disgrace and football was the loser.

"Clearly something has gone wrong. We haven't had trouble at our ground for some considerable time and want to maintain that."

Fourteen people were hurt and six arrested during a day of violence. The worst of the trouble inside Ninian Park erupted after the match when the players and referee Walton had left the pitch. But the game was held up for more than a minute as Willie Boland waited to take Cardiff's penalty while missiles were thrown.

As the home club, Cardiff face action over that hold-up even though the missiles came from the section housing the Millwall fans.

Evans said: "All we can do is examine the measures that were taken by the club and what preparations they made.

"We can only look in terms of their preparation and liaisons with Millwall.

"It is also their responsibility for the stewarding which is another factor in this.

"Certainly, one of the main things to look at is the bottle-throwing from the Millwall fans during the game but we will wait for the referee's report and ask the clubs for their observations."

Evans added: "What happened around the city before and after the game cannot be Cardiff's fault

"Generally, the policing inside the ground was good but it could come down to whether there was any negligence from Cardiff."

Evans would not say how Cardiff could be punished but he pointed out: "Last season Swansea City had a fan run on to the field and attack a player. They were fined pounds 15,000 for that.

"The last time Cardiff were involved in trouble was four or five seasons ago when they had a suspended fine of pounds 25,000 handed out."

That penalty could now be imposed. But there is also concern that Cardiff face a series of potential flashpoints this season against clubs such as Bristol City, Wrexham and Stoke.