Football boss sent bullet in post

[T Fearon]

Stew,

Why do Linfield/IFA attract Loyalist extremists, Combat 18 etc? It is because they are perceived as a loyalist club due to their historical hostility towards catholics, not signing catholics etc. The IFA has tolerated this for decades and still refuses to shed its unionist/loyalist baggage therefore in my opinion it is very much responsible for the events on Saturday.

It will be interesting to see if any sanctions are imposed by the IFA on Linfield. I wont be holding my breath anyway.

The solution is of course for the likes of Cliftonville, Donegal Celtic etc to follow the example of Derry City and join the Eircom League. Look how successful this has proved for Derry.

At the end of the day, Belfast Celtic and Derry City were forced out of the Irish League due to the fact that they constituted a threat of Linfield's dominance. This is waht is currently happening to Cliftonville.

[SammyG]

Maybe I am very naive on this but why would anybody think that Jeffries is on one side and Patterson on another.
AFAIC they are on the same side, they are both soccer club managers in the IL.

I only saw this incident being reported on the BBC NI website
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7321231.stm
They make out that it was trouble between supporters at some place outside the ground. As in two sets of supporters with equal blame attached.
Rather than Red Handers report that Linfield supporters attacked bi standers.

I don't think anybody is blaming either set of supporters (apart from the usual numpties on here). The Chief peeler, on the radio this morning, said the 'mob' had been drinking in a different pub and were then seen on CCTV on their way to attack. As the incident took place between 15:15 and 15:30 it's unlikely that many Linfield fans had left the Oval, made their way into town, gone drinking, then left the pub and went on the rampage. If you look at the pictures the people involved are wearing Celtic tops and the ones who started the trouble aren't wearing any colours at all. No sign of either Linfield or Cliftonville fans (and the match at the Oval passed off without incident). We'll obviously have to wait for any enquiries/reports but this looks like the usual shite that happens after Old Firm matches.

http://www.presseye.com/photolibrary/image_list.asp?cid=2093

[Main Street]

As it stands now the most likely explanation is a drunken mob (unrelated to Linfield) came on a rampage to attack anybody in the vicinity of a pub known to have Celtic fans among its clientele.

[Orior]

As it stands now the most likely explanation is a drunken mob (unrelated to Linfield) came on a rampage to attack anybody in the vicinity of a pub known to have Celtic fans among its clientele.

Not quite. It appears they were well organised.

[bennydorano]

The Scumday World was doing it's best yesterday in trying to ratchet up(or create might be better) the sectarian tension.

[nifan]

Ive little idea as to what has gone on due to being out of the country, and really only whats posted here is what im seeing.
If it was organized tehn hopefully that will mean there is a chance of getting to the bottom of it and finding the scumbags responsible.

Orior, any understanding of what was organised? or by whom?

Fearon - is there any reason you are aware of that Linfield can or even should be sanctioned here?
Also im surely not the only one who laughs at the irony of you stating what a disgrace it is that linfield is a perceived loyalist club, but on another thread you where lauding cliftonville for being a republican and gleefully going on about windsor being awash with tricolours.

[Zapatista]

What a shame this is. Hatred is alive and well in the north and there are still many scumbags out there who refuse to move on. Fair play to the Linfield manager for his comments and I hope the peelers somehow find out which coward sent this disgusting threat.

Comments like this do not help. Hatred is alive an well everywhere. Even places like Kerry and Dublin have both had high profile murders and hatred lately. Your comments are more at home in places like the News of the World.

I hope the person/s responible are caught and punished for this.

[Donagh]

Absolutely disgusting post there by Sammy. Here's what is known about the incident. Those responsible got off a bus full of Linfield supporters which had been escorted by the PSNI as far as the city centre. They attacked Cosgroves Bar but were beaten out of it again by those inside. They then attacked people on the street stabbing one in the throat. After the attack they made their way up College Avenue towards Sandy Row, home of Linfield and Windsor Park. Coming after the threat to the manager it's a fair assumption to make that someone associated with Linfield was hell bent on making trouble last weekend. And to think the OWC people expected the GAA to bring people into the city with this type of unionist soccer scum running around looking opportunity to attack a Fenian.

[thejuice]

................due to being out of the country

Oh really, how convenient.....

[ziggysego]

If you say you were in Dublin, I'll smack you one nifan lol

[SammyG]

Absolutely disgusting post there by Sammy.

In what way?

Here's what is known about the incident. Those responsible got off a bus full of Linfield supporters which had been escorted by the PSNI as far as the city centre.

Absolute bullshit

They attacked Cosgroves Bar but were beaten out of it again by those inside.

Correct

They then attacked people on the street stabbing one in the throat.

Again correct

After the attack they made their way up College Avenue towards Sandy Row, home of Linfield and Windsor Park.

Not sure where you got that from.

Coming after the threat to the manager it's a fair assumption to make that someone associated with Linfield was hell bent on making trouble last weekend.

WTF has the disgusting threat got to do with either Linfield or the match at the weekend (which passed off without incident)

And to think the OWC people expected the GAA to bring people into the city with this type of unionist soccer scum running around looking opportunity to attack a Fenian.

EDITTED To protect the iinnocent : Rangers scum attack Celtic fans and somehow this becomes something to do with OWC and the Maze. Sickening.

[ziggysego]

OK OK.

The attack was terrible at the weekend. Hopefully the PSNI will be able to track the thugs down. Linfield and the IFA should ban them from future games (though it's debateable if they were even at the game).

That said, I can't see how Linfield FC and/or the IFA can be held responsible. It's just up to them at act upon it, as the case would be in any sporting code.

[Hurler on the Bitch]

Ive little idea as to what has gone on due to being out of the country, and really only whats posted here is what im seeing.
If it was organized tehn hopefully that will mean there is a chance of getting to the bottom of it and finding the scumbags responsible.

Orior, any understanding of what was organised? or by whom?

Fearon - is there any reason you are aware of that Linfield can or even should be sanctioned here?
Also im surely not the only one who laughs at the irony of you stating what a disgrace it is that linfield is a perceived loyalist club, but on another thread you where lauding cliftonville for being a republican and gleefully going on about windsor being awash with tricolours.

The fact is that the IFA hasn't the balls to deal with the extreme Linfield supporters.. we are still waiting for the sanctions over the Oval debacle in 2005.. I will though acknowledge that the Linfield club has done its best to deal with the issue in Windsor but they cannot deal with the 'hangers-on' who troop to the Oval, Coleraine etc etc and then go into the town for trouble. It's just another sympton of the sick place we live in.. However, Linfield and the IFA cannot wash their hands completely of the problem as there has been an acceptance for too long of the scumbags... Whatever you say, say nothing and don't mention the elephant in the kitchen..

[SammyG]

Ive little idea as to what has gone on due to being out of the country, and really only whats posted here is what im seeing.
If it was organized tehn hopefully that will mean there is a chance of getting to the bottom of it and finding the scumbags responsible.

Orior, any understanding of what was organised? or by whom?

Fearon - is there any reason you are aware of that Linfield can or even should be sanctioned here?
Also im surely not the only one who laughs at the irony of you stating what a disgrace it is that linfield is a perceived loyalist club, but on another thread you where lauding cliftonville for being a republican and gleefully going on about windsor being awash with tricolours.

The fact is that the IFA hasn't the balls to deal with the extreme Linfield supporters.. we are still waiting for the sanctions over the Oval debacle in 2005.. I will though acknowledge that the Linfield club has done its beat to deal with the issue in Windsor but they cannot deal with the 'hangers-on' who troop to the Oval, Coleraine etc etc and then go into the town for trouble. It's just another sympton of the sick place we live in.. However, Linfield and the IFA cannot wash their hands completely of the problem as there has been an acceptance for too long of the scumbags... Whatever you say, say nothing and don't mention the elephant in the kitchen..

So the IFA should be responsible for Rangers supporters, who weren't at or even near the match, fighting in town. How do you manage to come to that conclusion?

[saffron sam2]

Two articles from today's Irish News.

Stabbed man critical after gang target city-centre bar By Andrea McKernon

A man remained in a critical condition last night after being stabbed in the neck by a gang of loyalists outside a Belfast city centre pub.

The victim, originally from Glasgow but living in the Cliftonville area of north Belfast, had been in Cosgrove's bar in King Street when it was attacked by a mob armed with knives and other weapons.

Named locally as Hugh McNally (32), he was one of a number of people injured as violence spilled into surrounding streets. Two other men had facial injuries and one a head wound.

The attack took place around an hour after the end of the Linfield v Cliftonville Irish Cup semi-final in east Belfast on Saturday afternoon.

Customers at the bar said yesterday that they were still stunned by the vicious attack which happened in broad daylight in front of shocked shoppers at the busy junction of Castle Street and King Street.

The Irish News understands that police are investigating the possibility that the gang had been in the city centre drinking and had walked from McHugh's Bar in Queen's Square to Castle Street, a predominately nationalist area.

A PSNI spokeswoman confirmed that CCTV footage from a number of locations in the city centre would form the basis of the investigation.

But Sinn Fein's Fra McCann said he had questions to put to the force about how the gang was able to make their way to the area before launching the attack.

He said police responded to the violence after it was picked up by a CCTV monitor at the nearby Millfield junction.

A friend of Mr McNally, who was last night in the intensive care unit at the city's Royal Victoria Hospital, described how the pub was attacked.

"I was outside the door having a smoke when they came walking up Castle Street. One of them spat in my face and called me a Fenian bastard," he said.

"I ran into the bar shouting because they were all dressed the same – in black, with baseball caps.

"The majority of the bar was just old men sitting, because anyone watching the match had left. There was a small number of younger fellas playing pool upstairs and they ran down and stopped them from getting into the bar."

The man, who asked not to be identified, said that during the ensuing violence he was unaware that his friend had been attacked.

"My son told me that he was lying on the road. I went over to him and he was lying with blood pumping out of his neck,'' he said.

"He was unconscious. I don't even know what had happened. There were drivers from the taxi depot working on him and then the ambulance arrived."

Another witness said there was broken glass around the victim and a lot of blood.

"These eejits were lifting bricks and throwing them at anybody standing about,'' he said.

"They ran along King Street and up towards Jury's Hotel to Great Victoria Street

when they opened their jackets and revealed scarves and colours."

Another bar regular said that up to 40 loyalists aged in their thirties were involved.

"They were armed with knuckle-dusters, goggles and flick sticks. They caused mayhem on a Catholic community and some of them had English accents. They were all outside shouting 'Famous Section F' and 'Fenian bastards'."

Police in a statement condemned the violence and said their investigation was continuing.

"The disturbance itself was picked up on CCTV at 15:34. Officers were tasked at 15:37 and arrived at the scene at 15:39.

"This will be a complex and protracted enquiry and a dedicated team of detectives has already been put in place to investigate the disturbance.

"There are a vast amount of witnesses and witness statements are currently being progressed. CCTV footage is in the process of being collated and will be examined as a priority."

Loyalists shouted neo-Nazi slogans By Andrea McKernon

Neo-nazi slogans were shouted along with sectarian insults by those involved in Saturday afternoon's attack, witnesses said.

The gang, some of whom had English accents, were said to be dressed in black baseball caps and jackets and shouted 'Combat 18' as they approached the bar.

The Combat 18 group – which takes its name from the fact that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's initials were the first and eighth letters of the alphabet – has been responsible for violent attacks on ethnic minorities and immigrants in Britain and has also been linked to football violence. It has also been known to have sought to establish links with loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland.

Sinn Fein assembly member Fra McCann said the attack was sinister.

"It doesn't surprise me that these people were shouting about Combat 18. This attack was well organised with descriptions of men dressed in black,'' Mr McCann said.

"There have been connections with ultra right-wing groups and loyalists for years and they are active around football in other areas."

Belfast Lord Mayor Jim Rodgers condemned the violence, describing it as "appalling, sickening and disgusting".

"It besmirches the good name of Belfast. No right-thinking football supporter would be involved in this nonsense. There are not enough police on the ground and too few police in Belfast city centre," he said.

In a statement last night Cliftonville FC stressed that the violence did not involve any of their supporters.

The Irish Football Association condemned the attack.

Cliftonville manager Eddie Patterson was sent a bullet in the post last week. The package was intercepted at a sorting office. A PSNI investigation is under way.

The news was only released after Saturday's cup semi-final in which Linfield beat Cliftonville by two goals to one. It was condemned by Linfield boss David Jeffrey.

Although the game passed off peacefully, there were reports that a UVF flag was flown in the crowd.