In the next few days MOMS will be addressing the recent appalling attitude and actions of the Villa Park stewarding unit in more detail.
In short, Aston Villa fans are not happy about how their club has been run, yet it appears they are not allowed to voice their concern, despite paying good money to attend Villa Park stadium.
Villa Park’s stadium management seems to be attempting zero tolerance censorship on supporter’s banners, despite the fact these protest banners DO NOT violate stadium rules – ‘Lerner Out’ or ‘Fox Out’ cannot be classed as “abusive, offensive, racist or obscene”.
Such thinking is just another example of the narrow-minded and short-termism that has plagued the club on so many levels and has collectively led to its recent demise.
A switch to a more enlighten thinking will be needed by the club to have any hope of turning this club around next season.
The following supporter ‘letter’ sent into MOMS Towers after the recent home game against Spurs, summed up how some supporters are increasingly feeling about going to Villa Park. Supporters don’t really want to have the police film them on video cameras while they watch the game (aren’t the club’s CCTV cameras enough?), they don’t want to have to engage in bed sheet tug-of-war with heavy-handed stewards, nor be wrestled by the stewards.
Going to Villa Park should not be a case of regularly being subjected to such ritual humiliation. Watching football is not a crime.
SUPPORTER LETTER ON RECENT STEWARD ACTIONS
[Sent to MOMS after recent Spurs game]
Today I lost respect for my club.
I’m a fairly apathetic fan, in fact you could say if the stadium was full of folk like me, you could hear a pin drop. I don’t get animated, I don’t sing, I don’t jeer and all that – but I go and I support the lads as its in the blood.
Today because the other half was out, I had to either not go due to babysitting or take the four-year-old to his first game – i chose the latter and baptised him.
This meant that I gave up my seat in the Holte for a move to the family section in the Trinity.
During the second half, we heard the cheering as some lads unfurled a bed sheet with “Lerner Out” on it. Big deal, free speech and all that.
Then I saw stewards try to remove the article. They couldn’t. So from our vantage point we then watched the “Gestapo” like force amass, a couple of dozen or so, to then hide till the numbers were enough – to get a badly aero soled bed sheet.
When they got it and ejected the most innocuous looking hooligan family I’ve ever seen, a chubby looking jobsworth in his fluorescent jacket was parading the said sheet , balled up and gesticulating to the rest of the gestapo , his £5 worth of a trophy.
Well done you. Sleep well.
I’ve never seen this from the Holte and ironically, I moved to the family section to witness the death throes of my club’s moralities.
I think I’ll give Aston Villa a wide berth now, after my paid up obligations to this year are over.
Truly disgusted.
Simon T
UTV
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to be fair most of the older stewards in the lower holte are decent, this new lot from Spears who have been contracted in seem to cause a lot of the issues now, I’ve never really had a problem with any of the stewards but then I’m just a normal fan who supports my team and doesn’t go with an agenda against stewards or to stir up trouble.
As much as I don’t agree with villa fans having banners removed by stewards not all fans were ejected for this reason. People in front of us were ejected for sexist, racist and homophobic behaviour. I fully back all of the stewards who ejected these people I don’t want to listen vile opinions and don’t want my 3 kids listening to it either. Stewards nit all bad
I heard there was an ejection after a Spurs player reported something to the stewards. Is this what you are referring to?