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PHOTOS: Away Fans in the Stands at Pre-season Friendlies – 15th July 2023

Feels like ages since we’ve done this but it’s time to check out Away Fans in the Stands at Pre-season Friendlies for the 15th of July 2023.

As long as trains and buses are on time, the pre-match pint and grub is a vital part of the whole match day experience.

It may be tough to find a pub without hostile home fans, but it’s always possible to duck into a nice little ‘boozer’ for a bevvy before kick-off.

While much of the ‘away day’ experience takes place out of the stadium, the ground itself always plays a big part.

The days of old in which away fans were in roof-less terraces being battered by the elements are becoming a distant memory – albeit they are still a problem at some settings – with modern stadia now spacious and comfortable.

Right then, time to take a look at all those away fans in the stands at pre-season friendlies, with most games at non league clubs…

SHEFF WED fans at Chesterfield (in midweek)

DONCASTER fans at Boston (in midweek)

NEWCASTLE fans at Gateshead

READING fans at Sutton

LEICESTER fans at Northampton

ASTON VILLA fans at Walsall

NOTT’M FOREST fans at Notts County

SUNDERLAND fans San Antonio (vs in USA)

HULL fans at Grimsby

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BLACKBURN fans (in Austria)

MIDDLESBROUGH fans at Hartlepool

BOLTON fans at Chester

BRADFORD fans (vs Getafe)

PORTSMOUTH fans at Havant

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MILLWALL fans at Gillingham

NORWICH fans at Kaiserslautern

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EVERTON fans (vs Nyonnais)

FA STATEMENT ON FAN BEHAVIOUR:

The passionate support of fans is a vital part of what makes football so special in this country. It is completely understandable that emotions run high, particularly at this stage of the season when there is so much to play for.

However, we must remind supporters that in the interests of safety and wellbeing for everyone inside our stadiums, the pitch is for players, managers and officials, while the stands are there for fans to support their team.

At the end of the 2021/22 season, we witnessed some unwelcome scenes when fans entered the field of play without permission at several grounds. Even if this is done in celebratory fashion, any supporter who comes onto the pitch is breaking the law and putting the welfare of players, coaches, club staff and fellow fans at risk.

We know that this unacceptable behaviour is carried out by a minority of fans, and their actions do not represent most supporters, but they risk ruining the fantastic experience of a football match for everyone.

At the start of the 2022/23 season, the Premier League, EFL, NLS Leagues and The FA worked with the Football Supporters’ Association to introduce new measures and stronger sanctions to tackle anti-social and criminal behaviours, such as entering the pitch and the use of pyrotechnics.

This includes automatic club bans and police action, and we have seen cases this season which have led to fans receiving criminal records. This can impact employment and education prospects, restrict ability to travel overseas, and could result in a prison sentence. Club bans can also extend to accompanying parents or guardians of children who take part in this activity.

We want fans to continue to show their positive support as this can make all the difference to a team’s fortunes.

But our message is clear: fans must stay in the stands and avoid any unnecessary disruption at such a crucial point of the season.

Love Football, Protect the Game.

The beckoning floodlights
still work their magic,
mid April’s cold chill,
scarf snug round the neck.
Blood pulses through arteries,
moving as it should. Heart lifts
with every step towards the stadium.

An old pal texts me from
another game up north.
The name rings a bell.
He’s at a club where my job
was to phone over a few pars
for the Saturday Pink
from a kiosk outside the ground.

Games that I didn’t give a toss about,
dictated to a bored copy taker,
wishing I was somewhere else,
roaring my own team on to promotion.
But then, I remember Larkin’s sigh
it wasn’t the place’s fault I didn’t care.
A goalless draw can happen anywhere.

Poem by Greg Freeman

After stepping into the field
there is no way out
even before you start the game
you hear the fans shout

The players then sings their anthem
its football……
the most beautiful game…..

And when the whistle blows
the crowd starts their roar
in the 90 tensed minutes
the players got to score

Football is friendly only in name
because friendliness is not meant for football….
the most beautiful game….

So when the hard tackles go in
and injured fellow goes out
the crowd becomes furious
and starts to shout

Even after breaking one’s leg
there seems to be no shame
because its football….
the most beautiful game….

Poem by Rohan Roy

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