More On Saturday's Violence

The reactions to Saturday's violence at the Espanyol-Barça derby have come from all sides. However, as is so often the case everybody is blaming somebody else and nobody wants to take responsibility for what happened. Fortunately, nobody was seriously hurt or you could be sure that the accusations would be much greater.

Five fans were arrested for their part in the incidents and according to newspaper reports they could face sentences of up to four and a half years. While this might seem a bit harsh for what some might feel is just a bit of foolish fun, it should be remembered that this foolishness could end up with somebody losing their life, and hopefully if the sentences serve as a deterrent to the next knobhead who thinks this sort of behaviour can be justified in any way, then all the better.

Meanwhile, Espanyol and the local police have all decided to blame each other for the lack of security, and Espanyol have even decided they want some Barça players held responsible for the manner in which they celebrated the goals. Espanyol claim they asked the police not to admit the radical elements of Barça's supporters (Boixos Nois), while the police claim it was easier to control the fans inside the stadium rather than outside. This may be true but from the picture above we can clearly see the police just a few yards from the idiot firing the flare and they don't look as if they are doing very much to prevent it.

The fact that Espanyol are also trying to blame Barça's players (Piqué, Henry and Messi) for the way they celebrated the goals is really too much. If this action provoked anyone then surely it would be any Espanyol fan who doesn't know how to take a defeat. You might as well make last minute winners illegal as it can provoke an angry reaction from the fans of the losing team.

The Boixos Nois have also issued a statement saying they were provoked by Espanyol fans throwing objects. While this may well be the case it in no way justifies responding by throwing things back. I know there is a pretty horrible section of Espanyol fans but throwing things or letting off flares is almost always more likely to hit somebody who has not been involved in anything in the first place. It's time to grow up, nothing can be gained by such actions, anyone who respects you because they think you are hard is just a moron, and gaining the respect of morons is surely not worth the bother.

I know that these groups often give great vocal support to the team and for those who go to games with this sole intention I applaud you; however, there is absolutely no reason why vocal support cannot be given without getting involved in such mindless actions such as those that occurred on Saturday.