Muslim football fans

[brummie]

The food thing - Aye.

 

The no drink thing - no

 

The cheap tickets  - Fuk off, no one should be getting special treatment because of their race or religion.

 

They either like the way its done, however adding a menu for them is a great idea, but apart from that why should football grounds change the way they work for religion?

 

There is no place for religion in football, putting them together is a horrible idea. I'd rather have Muslims attending with us next to me and around me than in a section of their own. Horrid, sorry.

 

The Country need a wa to break the segregation, not create more.

 

 

I agree except I don't mind the idea of cheap tickets as an introductory offer type of thing, so long as it isn't a long-term policy.

 

I'd rather do it for school children who are black, white, muslim, Christian, Jewish or any other religious background etc... but certainly not this.

 

Muslims pay less for their tickets. Fuking hell, things in the UK are going to pot.

 

You're getting it wrong (or maybe i described it badly).

 

The offer was for people living within a certain radius of the ground, regardless of race. It just happens that a sizeable majority of people living within a few streets of Villa Park are going to be muslim.

 

They had the choice to sit elsewhere in the ground, or to use that section of the ground, where booze wouldn't be served, and Halal food would be available.

 

Right, it was the bit where you said for muslim residents around VP and titled the thread 'muslim football fans' that has thrown me that its was about muslims only. 

 

If you are going to encourage EVERYONE around the ground to attend matches than fair enough, but it sounds that is not the case putting on special food and catering to Mulsims religious requirements.

 

 

 

Have you been to Villa Park? I reckon if you walked down Witton Lane and knocked on every door, 90 percent plus would be Muslim, so mailing local households is obviously going to be reaching mainly muslims. That's obviously what the idea was about.

 

To be honest, I'd be most pissed off if I found out they were tucking into nice bowls of Balti whilst I was eating my tepid chips and watery curry sauce

 

[Dokko]

The food thing - Aye.

 

The no drink thing - no

 

The cheap tickets  - Fuk off, no one should be getting special treatment because of their race or religion.

 

They either like the way its done, however adding a menu for them is a great idea, but apart from that why should football grounds change the way they work for religion?

 

There is no place for religion in football, putting them together is a horrible idea. I'd rather have Muslims attending with us next to me and around me than in a section of their own. Horrid, sorry.

 

The Country need a wa to break the segregation, not create more.

 

 

I agree except I don't mind the idea of cheap tickets as an introductory offer type of thing, so long as it isn't a long-term policy.

 

I'd rather do it for school children who are black, white, muslim, Christian, Jewish or any other religious background etc... but certainly not this.

 

Muslims pay less for their tickets. Fuking hell, things in the UK are going to pot.

Just to encourage them to come initially though, like I said. And only tickets that weren't going to be sold anyway. It's actually not that philanthropic since it's about drumming up more business / getting more bums on seats. And if it makes the game more accessible to another aspect of society, all the better.

 

The way they've gone about it is wrong imo.

 

There should be no compromise in football to cater for religion. Instead of a quick fix like this Villa should work on their PR with there locals and get the players involved, hold training sessions with the local kids (meaning everyone) in the summer instead of bending over backwards for Religious taste.

 

I can't stress enough how much i hate Religon interfering in the game, the Cath V Prod pisses me off more than anything, its disgusting.

[brummie]

The way they've gone about it is wrong imo.

 

There should be no compromise in football to cater for religion. Instead of a quick fix like this Villa should work on their PR with there locals and get the players involved, hold training sessions with the local kids (meaning everyone) in the summer instead of bending over backwards for Religious taste.

 

I can't stress enough how much i hate Religon interfering in the game, the Cath V Prod pisses me off more than anything, its disgusting.

 

We already do get the players involved with the local community, provide football pitches in the area, etc etc.

 

This just seemed to be a bold move going that bit further.

 

Incidentally, I too hate that whole sectarian thing in football, but that is about division, this isn't.

[Benwell Lad]

A recent TV documentary said that Muslims contribute less and take more from the UK economy than the average person, while conversely our Hindu population contributes more and takes less than the average citizen.  So why should they be given cheap tickets and special treatment ? If they have problems integrating into British society and customs (e.g football) that probably has more to do with their attitude than society's.

 

Those Muslims who want to come and watch football and in particular support Newcastle are very welcome but I don't see why we should bend over backwards to attract them.

[Jamie]

So if i went to our club and told them i was a buddhist monk would you think i would get cheaper tickets ?  

 

Why should anybody pay less just because of their religion ?

[Guest Spurs_from_Africa]

Absolute joke of an idea to be honest.

 

So they get cheap tickets....because they are muslims. That's a disgrace to be fair.

 

Just letting them have there own part of the ground? Absolute joke as well. I've got nothig against them attending matches obviously, but  keeping them together in their own stand is a joke.

 

The food bit is ok, why not just have it in all areas of the ground though? As in you can have a burger if you want, or the muslims in that section can have halal or whatever it is. Although it is setting a precedent, should Italians coming to watch the game expect pasta and pizza? Should French people living in England demand frogs legs and the likes? Of course not. Although as you say there does seem to be a strong presence of muslim fans at the games, so maybe the food isnt a bad idea.

 

All in all it's a bit of a disgarce to be fair. And it's discrimanation against Villa fans like yourself. You pay full whack for ya ticket, but the nice little muslims can get in cheaper and have there own tier to be with each other. Absolutely terrible.

 

Wait a second, have I misunderstood Brummie's initial post? The way I understood it was that tickets were offered at a cheaper price to a few people around where Villa Park is, to encourage people to go. The same way a club may allow a whole class from a local school to come in and watch for free to attract the new wave of supporters. In that area, there would be halal food and no alcohol, which would especially encourage the muslim community to go. In the future, when these have become villa fans, the price for them would go back to normal. Am I right?

 

And I don't think it is just letting them have one part of the ground till the end of time. Again, just to ease them into football and then everyone together.

 

I can't help but laugh through at your comparisons to halal food and pizza. Do you think that Italians are required by their um religion to eat Pizza or something? I must have missed that in school. Still, you learn something every day eh?

 

Personally, I think its an excellent idea. Gets Villa more fans and might help the muslim communities, who seem to be more and more isolated to integrate with the rest of the community.

[brummie]

Those Muslims who want to come and watch football and in particular support Newcastle are very welcome but I don't see why we should bend over backwards to attract them.

 

I agree, we shouldn't do that, but what do you class as bending over backwards?

 

There's no booze in the family section either, but I don't see people moaning about that. I've also been to loads of away grounds where they don't sell booze to the away fans (in fact, isnt Villa Park one of them?) but people don't have a massive problem with that.

 

Small gestures (and this is a small gesture) can go a long way.

[Dave]

Are there elements of a match that are keeping Muslims away, regardless of what is used to attract them?

[Dokko]

The way they've gone about it is wrong imo.

 

There should be no compromise in football to cater for religion. Instead of a quick fix like this Villa should work on their PR with there locals and get the players involved, hold training sessions with the local kids (meaning everyone) in the summer instead of bending over backwards for Religious taste.

 

I can't stress enough how much i hate Religon interfering in the game, the Cath V Prod pisses me off more than anything, its disgusting.

 

We already do get the players involved with the local community, provide football pitches in the area, etc etc.

 

This just seemed to be a bold move going that bit further.

 

Incidentally, I too hate that whole sectarian thing in football, but that is about division, this isn't.

 

Putting them in their own seats and stopping the drink is though, well to me it is.

 

I know that's not the idea, but that's in fact what this all leads too.

 

I could see it causing a few problems after a while, just the excuse to put focus on the arseholes in football having a target to shout at when things go wrong. You must know what i mean by that. Media explosion waiting to happen, football the victim.

 

I say get them into football by all means, offer different types of food all around the ground, possibly offer the cheaper tickets for local radius for a one off, but for the love of whatever you god is, do not separate them and do not stop the drink.

 

 

[Baggio]

Villa are trying to get more fans to the game which will mean more money coming through the turnstiles, nothing wrong with that but lets not try and dress it us as anything else.

[Benwell Lad]

Those Muslims who want to come and watch football and in particular support Newcastle are very welcome but I don't see why we should bend over backwards to attract them.

 

I agree, we shouldn't do that, but what do you class as bending over backwards?

 

There's no booze in the family section either, but I don't see people moaning about that. I've also been to loads of away grounds where they don't sell booze to the away fans (in fact, isnt Villa Park one of them?) but people don't have a massive problem with that.

 

Small gestures (and this is a small gesture) can go a long way.

 

Yeah, special treatment is probably a better way of putting it than "bending over backwards"

[Guest alex]

The food thing - Aye.

 

The no drink thing - no

 

The cheap tickets  - Fuk off, no one should be getting special treatment because of their race or religion.

 

They either like the way its done, however adding a menu for them is a great idea, but apart from that why should football grounds change the way they work for religion?

 

There is no place for religion in football, putting them together is a horrible idea. I'd rather have Muslims attending with us next to me and around me than in a section of their own. Horrid, sorry.

 

The Country need a wa to break the segregation, not create more.

 

 

I agree except I don't mind the idea of cheap tickets as an introductory offer type of thing, so long as it isn't a long-term policy.

 

I'd rather do it for school children who are black, white, muslim, Christian, Jewish or any other religious background etc... but certainly not this.

 

Muslims pay less for their tickets. Fuking hell, things in the UK are going to pot.

Just to encourage them to come initially though, like I said. And only tickets that weren't going to be sold anyway. It's actually not that philanthropic since it's about drumming up more business / getting more bums on seats. And if it makes the game more accessible to another aspect of society, all the better.

 

The way they've gone about it is wrong imo.

 

There should be no compromise in football to cater for religion. Instead of a quick fix like this Villa should work on their PR with there locals and get the players involved, hold training sessions with the local kids (meaning everyone) in the summer instead of bending over backwards for Religious taste.

 

I can't stress enough how much i hate Religon interfering in the game, the Cath V Prod pisses me off more than anything, its disgusting.

I think you're overreacting to be honest.

[Benwell Lad]

I wonder if Nail Quin has got wind of this yet ?

The mackems probably haven't tried this one yet, he'll be flogging cheapies outside the mosque in Laygate as soon as he hears.

[brummie]

So if i went to our club and told them i was a buddhist monk would you think i would get cheaper tickets ?  

 

Why should anybody pay less just because of their religion ?

 

Nobody should pay less because of their religion. It was a one-off offer to encourage a sector of the population who would normally not think of going to a football match (despite living next door to a PL stadium) to go to one.  If you were non muslim and lived in that area, you too would have had the offer. It just happens that almost everyone is Muslim there.

 

Just to reiterate what Spurs From Africa said, it isn't a permanent arrangement, it was a one off offer. In the same way a lot of clubs sell tickets cheaply to schools.

 

It won't mean a "Muslim section" of the ground (that'd be worse than actually not having them at the ground in the first place, in many ways).

 

If the idea is to make it easier for people to make that first step to becoming an attender, then good for them. Remember what it was like for you the first time you went to a match as a 6 or 7 year old? There'll be Muslim kids just like that right now.

 

If a few of them have had an introduction into the game like we had way back when, that left them wide eyed and wanting more, then good for them.

 

Why should they be excluded from the near endless cycle of misery and disappointment that we get?

 

We did similar things to encourage families back to matches (why do you think you can't sit in your seat at SJP with a pint?) several years ago.

[Dave]

So what Brummie's basically saying is he made a right bloody pig's* ear of the OP.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*This might be unintentionally ironic given the topic, but I can't remember.

[Dokko]

[Tooj]

Good job yous weren't playing Burra like, or else they might have been offended with a couple of chants aimed at Mido.

[ChrisJbarnes]

So if i went to our club and told them i was a buddhist monk would you think i would get cheaper tickets ?  

 

Why should anybody pay less just because of their religion ?

 

Nobody should pay less because of their religion. It was a one-off offer to encourage a sector of the population who would normally not think of going to a football match (despite living next door to a PL stadium) to go to one.  If you were non muslim and lived in that area, you too would have had the offer. It just happens that almost everyone is Muslim there.

 

Just to reiterate what Spurs From Africa said, it isn't a permanent arrangement, it was a one off offer. In the same way a lot of clubs sell tickets cheaply to schools.

 

It won't mean a "Muslim section" of the ground (that'd be worse than actually not having them at the ground in the first place, in many ways).

 

If the idea is to make it easier for people to make that first step to becoming an attender, then good for them. Remember what it was like for you the first time you went to a match as a 6 or 7 year old? There'll be Muslim kids just like that right now.

 

If a few of them have had an introduction into the game like we had way back when, that left them wide eyed and wanting more, then good for them.

 

Why should they be excluded from the near endless cycle of misery and disappointment that we get?

 

We did similar things to encourage families back to matches (why do you think you can't sit in your seat at SJP with a pint?) several years ago.

 

whats aston like as an area, i was thinking of going there for uni. i always thought aston villa wsa the posh side of birminghma?

[Guest alex]

It was. About 100 years ago I think.

[jarralad]

Wont be long until the Muslims will want all alcohol banned and only halal food served.

[Baggio]

I don't see it as any different to us offering school kids half season tickets for £25 or whatever it was, the long term aim is to get more people interested in going to games which will bring more money into the club.

 

I remember the first time I went to Villa Park, went on a coach to watch Brazil vs Sweden and the area around the ground was a proper shit hole, it was like something from Boyz in the Hood.

[Guest alex]

Wont be long until the Muslims will want all alcohol banned and only halal food served.

Give over man.

[midds]

Wont be long until the Muslims will want all alcohol banned and only halal food served.

 

Aye, that's definitely the next step like...

 

[gazza ladra]

Sorry about my ignorance, but what do you mean by Muslim? Seems to be plenty of Muslim fans who have no problem attending matches throughout Africa and Asia. Why would they need special incentive to attend matches in England?

 

If the Muslims referred to are from Pakistan/India, why are they being specifically targeted? Do South Asians with Hindu or Sikh backgrounds attend the games?

 

 

 

[Guest alex]

The 'funny' thing is, this is (I assume) a club initiative to get more people going, yet it's being portrayed as some sort of Islamic attack on English football. They'll be demanding public stonings at half-time next, etc.