VIEW FROM THE BLUE

Scandal, Scandal, Read All About It!

By Lyndon Lloyd :  07/11/2007 :  Comments (10) :

"Everton fans banned!" screams a headline from Pink Football.

"Fans under Uefa scrutiny after illicit online ticket buys!" gasps The Guardian.

Even the BBC trotted out the "H" word in a report yesterday: Tickets have been canceled "because of fears over the potential for hooliganism."

What on earth has happened to the field of journalism, new and old media alike, that the need to sensationalise and grab attention with deliberately misleading headlines and reportage is now paramount?

Would it be too much ask for the plain old boring truth to be told? That passionate Evertonians excited by the prospect of watching their heroes on the Continent but frustrated by an excessively small allocation grabbed an opportunity to buy genuine tickets through the official channel of FC Nürnberg's ticket office.

That the German club may have been operating outside of their remit but were at least allocating these extra tickets to sections adjacent to the official away contingent and not recklessly peppering them among the home supporters in order to make a quick buck?

That Uefa intervened through necessity lest a problem arise from excessive numbers of fans and not enough police or a lack of segregation and they, as European football's governing body, would be left to take the blame for allowing it to happen.

That this was down to the clubs involved and the authorities and that the fans are just the victims in all of this.

That unlike the more frequent visitors to the Continent from across Stanley Park, Everton fans have an excellent reputation and behavioural record in European competition. As many have commented on these pages in recent days, just ask the people of Rotterdam, of Villarreal, of Kharkov.

No, its far more juicy to raise the prospect that Uefa classified the game as "high risk" ? that official-speak term is probably the root of all this sensationalism ? because of Everton fans and the obvious risk of hooliganism. Andy Hunter in The Guardian, who really should know better, even hints at unsubstantiated claims that forged tickets were doing the rounds in the pubs around Goodison last Saturday.

And heaven forbid there is any trouble in Nuremberg tomorrow, no matter how innocuous ? let's face it, we're not all saints and things are bound to happen when alcohol is involved. They can all rub their hands with glee and smugly cry, "see, we told you so!" and Everton FC gets branded as a club with troublesome fans and yet more criticism is aimed at the English as a whole.

That's why I'm hoping with all my being that every single Evertonian traveling to Nuremberg is on their best behavior, that they mingle and party with their German hosts in the friendly manner in which they did in Spain and Ukraine, and give a collective "up yours" to the doubters in the media in the process.

This the good name of Everton FC you're dragging through the mud, Mr Writer, and we don't appreciate it.

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