It’s Sickening, Y’know

The Incider’s exclusive interview with Christian Roberts in this issue has a sad sting in the tail.

The fact a player in this day and age has to stem his natural urge to celebrate a goal because he fears yobs will beat up his family is a sad indictment of the hooligan element which still infects certain clubs.

This was not a palatable article for The Incider to run. Frankly, we wish we didn’t have to. But we feel we have a duty to do so because it highlights just how bad things have got on the other side of the bridge.

Every Bristol City fan who has had to run the gauntlet of coins, urine and bricks at Ninian Park season after season simply to follow their team will understand why Christian Roberts decided not to celebrate.

Every fan who dared not take the chance of making the short trip to watch the Severnside derby and instead opted to see the match down the pub will understand why he had to think of his family first.

Every parent who took their family to watch the Cardiff game at the Red and White Bar rather than risk them being put in hospital by a missile will understand.

Christian’s decision to put his relatives’ safety before the instant elation of scoring a crucial goal against promotion rivals shows a maturity beyond his years and deserves nothing but praise. It shows his balanced sense of values, his common sense and his ability to keep his head in an emotional cauldron like Ninian Park.

His frankness when asked a simple, straightforward question during the interview must also be admired. He could easily have dodged the issue and referred to his respect for his former club, but instead he chose to answer with disarming honesty.

These attributes are all aspects of his character that will stand this club in good stead in coming years.

But is it not frankly shocking that a player in this day and age should feel so intimidated he cannot spontaneously celebrate a goal?

We are not talking about fans giving a rival player a bit of jip for scoring a goal, or booing him on the pitch. That is something players expect and can handle. We are talking about a player who believes his family will be beaten up in the street in cold blood by thugs simply because he was doing his job.

Disgusting is not the word for it.

The FA and Football League must do something to stop fans of clubs like Cardiff acting like animals and intimidating people like this with violence week in, week out, year in, year out. They must stop sticking their heads in the sand and hiding behind the old excuse about only concerning themselves with incidents inside the ground. If it affects football, they should stand up and be counted. The safety of players and fans off the pitch should also be their concern.

Football cannot wash its hands of a problem it has caused simply because it doesn’t happen between 3pm and 4.45pm on a Saturday. If that means deducting points from clubs for things that happen outside the ground when there is evidence it is football-related then get on and do it. If that means hitting a club with huge fines or forcing them to play behind closed doors then the sooner the better – even if that means punishing City severely when our fans cross the line.

Perhaps then clubs like Cardiff will be driven to find new ways to stop this happening. Perhaps our fans will be able to go to watch a game at Ninian Park and know they’ll be leaving the ground in a car or coach rather than an ambulance. Perhaps a player will be able to show his elation on the pitch without worrying about whether he, his wife, mother or child will pay the price in blood off it.

Christian Roberts’ actions are simply one sickening symptom of a disease which runs through clubs like Cardiff City.

So we want to send a simple message to Christian: We now know why you didn’t celebrate the goal and we don’t blame you. It was a sensible decision to take knowing your family have to walk the streets and shopping malls of Cardiff week in, week out.

Is shouldn’t be this way. But we know what was going through your head when you made the decision, Christian. Believe us, we know.

• What do YOU think? We want to know, y’know. Email us your opinion at letters@theincider.com. We’ll print your responses in the next issue.

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