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The Jack Army heads east, north, south and in some cases from the west for the 12:30pm kick off between the Swans and the Robins at Ashton Gate this afternoon. Head coach Luke Williams is already buoyed by his selections being improved by returning players for a game which always provokes the emotions.
The game isn’t being televised having been moved to an early kick off on a Sunday on police advice after several games in Bristol being interrupted by disorder inside and outside the ground. We haven’t seen anything of the like at Swansea but the rivalry always seems to spark in to life when these fixtures occur in the city of Bristol. The Swans have a reduced allocation as a result but there will still be huge numbers of the Jack Army at this game today.
It’s a shame that recent clashes have overspilled in to Greville Smyth Park after these fixtures with Swansea fans rushing across the park to engage Robins fans on numerous occasions. And despite the jail sentences handed down to both Robins and Swans fans it seems the euphoria of the clashes overtakes common sense. It’s very clear local supporters to Bristol see it as some form of England v Wales match which seems odd given many Swans fans live or come from England. That aside we can only hope that the early kick off and change of date which will affect the overall attendance and a reduced Swansea allocation may ward off similar behaviour.
We ask Swans fans to take note of comments made by the police after these fixtures.
Police comment
Nasty clashes have occurred when Swans fans arrived late and drunk in recent years. This Sunday kick off it is hoped will thwart that possibility. Last seasons away game passed off relatively peacefully, so let’s be the bigger fans this season, and support the Swans on the pitch.
The upshot of these clashes has been maximum jail sentences of eight months in some cases plus huge bans from attending Swansea City and Wales matches. That really should be a warning today that the courts will treat football fans extremely harshly if evidence shows anyone’s involvement in trouble. By comparison a normal Saturday night punch up in any town you care to mention would never reach such high levels of sentencing. It really is a case of be warned.
Bristol Evening Post
Travel safely today Jacks, Bristol City fans may well have whipped up a rivalry they cannot deal with but don’t become a part of the problem. Enjoy the game !
Photographs Guto Llewelyn and Dimitris Legakis
