Joel Hutton with students at Ysgol Plasmawr
By Tim Hartley, Vice Chair, Cardiff City Supporters Trust,
Do you love the passion, the chanting and the singing but can’t stand the yobbish behaviour of a handful of fans at away games? Well so do I, but if we work together we can change the behaviour of the mindless few and ensure City fans are respected up and down the country for our passion – not for our anger!
Your Supporters’ Trust joined Cardiff City Community Foundation and South Wales Police to take the message that anti-social behaviour does nothing for the club nor for the true fan’s enjoyment into Cardiff’s schools. Joel Hutton from the Community Foundation led a series of presentations at Ysgol Plasmawr in Fairwater aimed at getting young people to think of the causes and consequences of shouting abuse and causing criminal damage at football matches and in the community.
Year 10 students were asked to discuss why people sometimes behave differently when they are part of a group. Vandalism, racism, underage drinking and violence were all discussed as well as the possible results of such behaviour. Pupils were asked what their family and friends would think if they ended up before the courts or banned from watching the City. No, it’s not a nice prospect is it?
Joel Hutton said: “It was great to see the students confronting the reality of anti-social behaviour and coming up with their own ideas of how to combat it. We have done similar sessions in primary schools and are glad to be working with the Trust and the police now in the secondary sector.”
Siriol Burford, Deputy Head of Plasmawr School, added: “We are really glad to get involved with our local football club, the supporters and the police. We can all talk about the respect agenda but we want to make that a reality for all our pupils whether they go the football or not. These sessions are a great way for us to get them talking about the problems young people in particular come up against.”