cut and paste

Now you've had it!! :-) :-)

The following statement was released by IMUSA this afternoon:

‘As reported on Red Issue yesterday, a number of United supporters (some rumours suggest up to 800 reds) who purchased tickets for Sunderland away via Ticketmaster were refused access at the turnstiles. Others were ejected from the ground simply for having tickets in the blocks sold by Ticketmaster.

In order to fully understand the events and to get actual numbers and therefore ultimately how best to take this forward can anyone affected please contact IMUSA with their version of events.

Any reds who found themselves excluded are urged to ensure they keep proof of purchase, and secondly to contact IMUSA via imusa@btopenworld.com so it can be determined whether there is a case to take legal action against Ticketmaster, Sunderland, the Police or all three.

This clearly indicates that the cutting of allocations based on inconsistent safety policies should be knocked on the head right now. This policy is far more likely to result in "disorder" than offering a full and fair allocation of tickets to away supporters - even if they do stand. Standing at the stadium of light is not restricted solely to United supporters who are the only club singled out for standing – but then again, would you get 48,000 if Southampton visited? In addition where are the warnings when purchasing tickets that non-Sunderland supporter would not be allowed entry? As for FLA or club ground regulations, those who purchase tickets for OT via corporate sources that are not United supporters are not banned – simply advised to avoid wearing opposing club colours.

Who are the idiots that come up with these ideas? A cynic might suggest that this is exactly why they have produced this policy in the first place – fill the ground with a record SOL crowd and any resulting disorder can be used as an excuse for more Draconian measures.’

See our earlier report of the appearance of Sunderland’s Director of Lies on Talk Sport below.

-- Anonymous, October 15, 2001

Answers

I've got some sympathy (for once) for the Man Ure fans concerned. I've been in home ends as an away fan lots of times. However, if a many as 800 were ejected I'd bet a fair number of them were wearing colours, in which case I've got no sympathy at all. In an ideal world we'd all be able to go to the match and wear whatever we want & mix with the opposition like one big happy family. In the real world though, if you're going in the home end you don't wear your colours, you try to keep a low profile and you don't do anything to rile the home fans. As far as away ticket allocations go, that's a bit rich coming from Man Untied fans. I can recall in the not too distant past occasions where our allocation for Old Trafford was so small that Newcastle issued the tickets by invitation only to those at the top of the list. The reason? They were rebuilding and didn't want to deny their own fans the chance to see the game. Unless I'm mistaken that's exactly what Sunderland have done. Mind you, it's monumentally dense to sell tickets through Ticketmaster for a game where they know the opposition has a large travelling support and it's difficult to imagine what Sunderland thought would happen. Ticketmaster obviously couldn't care less they just sell as many tickets as they can (and to be fair wouldn't really have much idea who they were selling to anyway).

-- Anonymous, October 15, 2001

Don't give manure about the whole thing. Find your own bleeding BBS!

-- Anonymous, October 15, 2001

when have U ever seen Reds in colours?

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2001

The fact that this dispute is between ManU and the Mackems should have me laughing, but to be honest it really peeves me.

Remember the England game at SJP, and it was fecked-up good and proper for some folks by those good people at TicketMAster?

TicketMaster are scum, a leach on football. All those who accept business through them should be made aware that TicketMaster don't give a flying fuck about either the club/theatre/artist OR the punter. If customer service means anything to anyone who sells tickets for their event, then they should stay well clear.

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2001

... or even a leech on football, which is far worse than a mere leach...

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2001

TicketBastard are more evil than the evil Gates Empire. That's pretty evil. :-|

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2001

3,000 Man U fans stood throughout league and Worthington cup fixtures with SAFC last season in defiance of i) signs at the turnstiles ii) stewards iii) SSoL request issued through the PA bloke. This jeopardises safety and the stadium insurance so Man U's ticket allocation was reduced to 1,000 this year.

SAFC and Northumbria Police informed Manchester United FC IN ADVANCE that away fans would not be admitted to home areas of the ground. Some Man U fans had already exploited a loophole to obtain tickets, namely the sale of a certain % of HOME tickets through Ticketmaster which SAFC is bound to by contract. They should have requested a refund at this point and not attempted to enter the ground.

SAFC and the OB cracked down strictly due to co-ordinated action to exploit the loophole through the internet.

The Man U boys took the p*ss, got caught, end of story. Why does it not surprise me when they refuse to accept defeat, whinging and bellyaching half the story to the sympathetic ManU-loving press?

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2001

Who gives a fuck!!!! When reading fanzines such as Red Issue or UWS it appears that Man United fans can get in anywhere .Jibbing I Believe you call it. I have always had a completely open mind when it comes to Man United fans but slowly my eyes are opening.You are all twats! Whinge ,twist ,moan! Get your Stone Island jumper on and piss off to Leicester square for a pint! IMUSA.It's all bollocks.Paper tigers,that's all! Just accept that no-one, bar 98% who have never been to OT, give a shit about you lot and your complaints. Meanwhile back in real world............

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2001

What a surprise that Red Issue would be at the forefront of the whingeing: anybody would think they didn't have a great team to occupy their minds. Probably less pseudo-Hoolie crap in the whole of the North East fanzines put together than in the Red Ish editorial. Sorry, LR, but this is so over...

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2001

Hey...ML3..yer right pal..we DID take the piss. It must have been feckin' EMBARRASSING for any of the Sunderland around us to find United out-singing them in their own end :-)

Naaa...joking apart SAFC are cunts. So what that we didn't sit down last season...but it has FUCK ALL to do with safety. Like I said before somwhere...55,000 Christians on their toes at Old Trafford for Songs of Praise and not a feckin' lion in sight.

Consider this....yer a "football" fan who fancies a game. You see advertised briefs for Sunderland Also-ran FC V's The Champions. You go along as a neutral...y'know...just a "football fan and you rightly applaud some great football and lovely goals. THEN...yer dragged screaming and kicking from yer seat etc etc etc. Now, I'm not saying that it was neutral "football fans" that were ejected...but it COULD have been. There was no warning on the tickets a-la Aston Villa and NO warning viw Ticket-Master.

Don't worry ya bitter shite...we're sorting this out...and it'll be as easy as our second team dismissed you shower of wannabes last weekend.

C'ya

NEXT!

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2001

Douggie..you are OBSESSED with Red Issue. You do realise the RI are not even officially recognised as a fanzine?

This isn't a Red Issue issue..it's a football fan issue. If you wanna be stepped all over and take it just because you are a football fan then fair enough. Me?......no chance!

Boro capped our allocation for this season to around 700. Newcastle did the same a few years ago and blamed "redevelopment"...hahahah Feckin' LIE. Sunderland whinged about us "standing" and whacked 2000 of our allocation. Must be summat in those stotties me thinks.

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2001

Do you realise how obsesses and mad you sound, LR? It's not just you - it's all supporters who get this sort of treatment. Get over it. Life's too short. It apparently is a Red Issue thing - you begin by quoting the Pseudo-Hoolie tw*ts in this thread so you evidently think so too. Yes, I get a vast amount of entertainment out of RI, largely because they think it's still about 1976 and that having a Hooliecrit section is admirable. They seem to have forgotten how recently you won a Treble and that you are buying players like Veron but think it's crucial to have a news headline on the bloke who challenged a court order keeping away from SJP. Sad and very Manc, I'm afraid: miserable, cynical buggers. This is dead boring for the 99 percent of users of this BBS who couldn't give a feck about Man Utd or Sunderland so we'll leave it, shall we?

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2001

I think there's probably some middle ground between what LR and ML3 are saying...fair enough if Sunderland want to reduce the allocation because of previous bad behaviour (ie standing) but their SHOULD have been warnings on the ticketmaster tickets....it would've prevented unwanted hassle for any neutrals and would've also possibly prevented so many Man Utd fans from buying them...wasting their cash and the police's time...

oh yes and I agree LR that Dougs is always banging on about your fanzines.... ;))

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2001

Aye Gav.....feck me..she used to have RI web site contributors asking after her ffs!

"How's 'Toon' " was the usual whenever I met them :-)

-- Anonymous, October 18, 2001

Gav, I know some of these people quite well, partly through my involvement with the Toon fanzines. End of story. I make no apology for it.

-- Anonymous, October 19, 2001

PS. ;))

-- Anonymous, October 19, 2001

Is that a double chin or a 'tache Dougal??

-- Anonymous, October 19, 2001

What do you think?

-- Anonymous, October 19, 2001

I daren't say.

-- Anonymous, October 19, 2001

Best for you if you don't ;) (that's a wink by the way - before we dig ourselves into even deeper holes).

-- Anonymous, October 20, 2001