EMT service cancelled due to disorder.

[Mugby]

This happened on Saturday evening, EMT 1F70, 1958 London to Leeds service left St. Pancras on time.

At some point during the journey, seemingly north of Kettering, disorder occurred on the train and it was an hour late arriving at Derby. A tiny bit of recovery there but it was still 50 mins. late at Sheffield and was terminated there. Perhaps the driver's hours were up which prevented it continuing to Leeds and Neville Hill depot.

From my experience of travelling on this service, it usually carries a reasonable number of passengers for Wakefield and Leeds. When it arrived in Sheffield after 2300, there's nothing north from there after that time so how would the pax be dealt with? Would they have been put in taxis?

I had intended to travel on it Saturday but luckily there was the 2246 XC service from Derby to Leeds which was on time.
Does anyone have any information about the 'disorder'?

 

[Stampy]

Apparently it was Luton fans on their way back from Notts County...

It all kicked off at Market Harborough.

https://twitter.com/EMTrains/status/992860303972061184

#EMTUpdate The train at #MarketHarborough has now moved and the line has reopened. We still have disruption to trains on our Sheffield/Nottingham/London and trying our best to recover our advertised timetable. We are expecting some late departures out of London ^PB

 

[Roy Badami]

I found this news report:

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/big-fight-breaks-out-between-1538283

...Fans forums have reported clashes between Hammers and Luton Town supporters during the journey.

Hatters fans had travelled to Notts County to watch a 0-0 draw on the last day of the League Two Season.

Others have suggested the incident involved West Ham and Leicester City fans.

It is unclear how many people were injured...

 

[LowLevel]

It was a selection of subhuman scum dressed as football fans causing problems on 3 separate trains. NB I am using this phrasing to avoid tarring all fans with the same brush. They took their fight on to the track at Market Harborough.

 

[Mugby]

I found this news report:

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/big-fight-breaks-out-between-1538283

It was a selection of subhuman scum dressed as football fans causing problems on 3 separate trains. NB I am using this phrasing to avoid tarring all fans with the same brush. They took their fight on to the track at Market Harborough.

Wow, it sounds much more serious than I imagined.

Thank God the season is almost over and we've got a brief respite for a couple of months!

 

[BestWestern]

Thank God the season is almost over and we've got a brief respite for a couple of months!

Indeed. A deep shame that the area in question isn't DC electrified and natural selection wasn't able to take its course.

Incidentally, where do they go to cause trouble when the football isn't on? Clubs are surely missing a trick not organising weekend mass brawls in their stadia to make a few quid out of season?!

 

[Leo1961]

Indeed. A deep shame that the area in question isn't DC electrified and natural selection wasn't able to take its course.

Incidentally, where do they go to cause trouble when the football isn't on? Clubs are surely missing a trick not organising weekend mass brawls in their stadia to make a few quid out of season?!

Spanish, Greek or other available holiday resorts?

We may be lucky this year and some may not return from beyond the Iron Curtain for a lengthy period...

 

[Bovverboy]

Apparently it was Luton fans on their way back from Notts County...

It all kicked off at Market Harborough.

https://twitter.com/EMTrains/status/992860303972061184

According to the news report contained in the above link, it was a fight between Luton town fans (on their way back from the game at Notts County) and West Ham fans (on their way back from the game at Leicester).

 

[Nick66]

And it wasn’t actually on the train in question which was confusing me somewhat as it seemed to be going in the opposite direction, looks like it was a knock-on effect. Thought we’d left this sort of thing behind in the 80s

 

[SPADTrap]

Bit of sun and a few football matches and this is how some behave. England! I was at Kettering and there were two serices from Nottingham, the 1905 and 1932 both with violent disorder on and the 1905 unit's bar being robbed and trashed entirely and innocent kids being caught in the crossfire. Numerous staff verbal assaults and although I can't go into details it's safe to say it was disgraceful and I hope the BTPs efforts of trawling CCTV of both train and station yield some prosecutions.

 

[Mag_seven]

Bit of sun and a few football matches and this is how some behave. England! I was at Kettering and there were two serices from Nottingham, the 1905 and 1932 both with violent disorder on and the 1905 unit's bar being robbed and trashed entirely and innocent kids being caught in the crossfire. Numerous staff verbal assaults and although I can't go into details it's safe to say it was disgraceful and I hope the BTPs efforts of trawling CCTV of both train and station yield some prosecutions.

Yet there are some on here who will take offence at any suggestion that football fans will behave in this way.

 

[DarloRich]

Yet there are some on here who will take offence at any suggestion that football fans will behave in this way.

Firstly find these people charge them and lock them up. That should go without saying but here I can never be sure

Secondly I will be one of those complaining . But that won't matter to you and others.It isn't worth entering into debate on this point

 

[Mugby]

If both matches really needed to be played on the same day, the kick off times could have been staggered and the situation avoided.

It must have been horrendous for the other passengers on the train, the cost of the disorder and disruption must have been considerable.
Should the FA be liable for compensation to EMT?

 

[Clip]

Yet there are some on here who will take offence at any suggestion that football fans will behave in this way.

No people take offense because people like you in the past have tarred ALL football fans with this behaviour when it really is quite a minority.

 

[Bromley boy]

Firstly find these people charge them and lock them up. That should go without saying but here I can never be sure

Secondly I will be one of those complaining . But that won't matter to you and others.It isn't worth entering into debate on this point

Are Darlington fans known for bad behaviour?

We have Milwall in this neck of the woods whose behaviour is pretty legendary. They don’t exactly endear themselves to the travelling public.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

And at the other end of the scale (and country), you have Brighton & Hove Albion fans behaving exceptionally well

 

[Darandio]

We have Milwall in this neck of the woods whose behaviour is pretty legendary. They don’t exactly endear themselves to the travelling public.

A load of Millwall fans were up here the weekend before last and were very well behaved on both the Grand Central and Northern services they used when travelling to the match. Many were already worse for wear due to the evening kick off, but it was mostly singing and banter with the opposition fans on the train.

No idea if they were like that on the way back after they got beat though.

 

[Darandio]

And at the other end of the scale (and country), you have Brighton & Hove Albion fans behaving exceptionally well

Apart from the ones banned from their own ground earlier this season.

The vast majority of fans from all clubs behave exceptionally well year in, year out.

 

[Jonfun]

No people take offense because people like you in the past have tarred ALL football fans with this behaviour when it really is quite a minority.

I'm afraid I can't agree. It is wrong to say everyone who likes football is a hooligan, but I'm afraid it is by no means "quite a minority". A significant minority, at best. A small majority, at worst. I think if you saw the misery football fans cause to other passengers and staff travelling by train your opinion may differ.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

And at the other end of the scale (and country), you have Brighton & Hove Albion fans behaving exceptionally well

Though I did see video of a load of Brighton fans trying to start something with a group of fans on a 313 (fans outside the stationary unit were shouting and throwing things at the unit) only for one of the people on the unit to force the doors open and say "We're Brighton too, ya ********s!"

 

[Bromley boy]

A load of Millwall fans were up here the weekend before last and were very well behaved on both the Grand Central and Northern services they used when travelling to the match. Many were already worse for wear due to the evening kick off, but it was mostly singing and banter with the opposition fans on the train.

No idea if they were like that on the way back after they got beat though.

Perhaps they've improved then. Good.

My ex girlfriend ended up in tears after being racially abused by some Millwall fans at London Bridge a few years back.

Lovely people.

EDIT: I’m sure the majority are fine but are sadly let down by a significant minority.

 

[rebmcr]

Even non-disruptive fans make me nervous, because the rate of football fans who are disruptive is much much higher than the rate of random members of the public who are disruptive.

 

[Qwerty133]

I'm afraid I can't agree. It is wrong to say everyone who likes football is a hooligan, but I'm afraid it is by no means "quite a minority". A significant minority, at best. A small majority, at worst. I think if you saw the misery football fans cause to other passengers and staff travelling by train your opinion may differ.

I'm pretty sure the country isn't seeing hundreds of thousands of people behaving like this so I think it being a minority is a fair comment.

 

[DarloRich]

Are Darlington fans known for bad behaviour?

We have Milwall in this neck of the woods whose behaviour is pretty legendary. They don’t exactly endear themselves to the travelling public.

all clubs have lunatics ( i would prefer to use other stronger words) who follow them. Some more than others but they are all there.

 

[MontyP]

Surely Luton fans returning home from a match in Nottingham would have been on a southbound service, not the northbound one mentioned in the original post?

 

[Bromley boy]

all clubs have lunatics ( i would prefer to use other stronger words) who follow them. Some more than others but they are all there.

I wouldn’t know.

I’ve never been cool enough to follow football. I like trains and aeroplanes too much.

 

[AlterEgo]

I'm afraid I can't agree. It is wrong to say everyone who likes football is a hooligan, but I'm afraid it is by no means "quite a minority". A significant minority, at best. A small majority, at worst. I think if you saw the misery football fans cause to other passengers and staff travelling by train your opinion may differ.

Absolute nonsense to suggest that.

 

[Yew]

I'm afraid I can't agree. It is wrong to say everyone who likes football is a hooligan, but I'm afraid it is by no means "quite a minority". A significant minority, at best. A small majority, at worst. I think if you saw the misery football fans cause to other passengers and staff travelling by train your opinion may differ.

A small majority? So you're saying that over 50% of football fans are hooligans? Would you like to provide some statistics to back up your assertion?

 

[Mugby]

Surely Luton fans returning home from a match in Nottingham would have been on a southbound service, not the northbound one mentioned in the original post?

That's correct. Luton fans returning from Nottingham and West Ham fans returning from Leicester found themselves on the same train.
I didn't know this when I wrote my original post. The brawling spilt out onto the platform at Market Harborough, some reports said onto the track too, so all lines were stopped hence the knock on effect to Northbound services.

Like I said, staggered kick off times would certainly have prevented the trouble.

 

[BestWestern]

all clubs have lunatics ( i would prefer to use other stronger words) who follow them. Some more than others but they are all there.

Sadly they aren't "lunatics", but normal functioning people who simply view their vile behaviour as a staple part of their day out at the footy, such is the abhorrent culture that has built up around the game and continues to linger today. Other sports have fans who get drunk and rowdy, but the 'football problem' is very different. All too often it isn't spontaneous, 'heat of the moment' stuff, it's entirely premeditated and seen as a central part of being a 'fan'. If the football authorities could be distracted from drooling over their huge piles of cash for a short while, perhaps some sharp action could be taken in an attempt to finally curb that rotten culture, but sadly that seems to be incredibly low on their list of priorities.