It's not just City fans who are going bananasUpdated: January 23rd, 2007

I was doing some research on reports that young children had their inflatable bananas confiscated and popped by stewards at Old Trafford during the derby. After typing in “inflatable bananas” at Google News I noticed this article from pinknews.co.uk.

Here’s an extract:

Football fans attending the London derby between Arsenal and Chelsea this Sunday will be searched for homophobic materials amid reports that sections of the Gunners’ crowd had planned to carry inflatable mobile phones in reference to tabloid allegations about former Arsenal defender Ashley Cole’s sexuality.

CCTV cameras will be trained on Arsenal fans to gather evidence for later prosecutions or match bans and a public statement will be made deploring homophobia, in advance of the match.

According to the Daily Telegraph Arsenal fans even received emails from the club warning them that the police will take action against anyone found brandishing the fake £20 notes (pictured below) or inflatable mobile phones at Ashley Cole in the game against Chelsea.


No joke: fans brandishing these spoof notes could be prosecuted

Pinknews also quoted gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who claimed: “Many years ago racist football fans took blow-up bananas to matches to abuse black players.”

Back in the 1970s some fans did indeed throw bananas on the pitch and direct monkey noises at black players. But confusing that with the inflatable banana craze does show a lack of knowledge about football culture.

And it brought to mind the recent announcement that City had joined Stonewall’s Diversity Champions scheme.

Taken in isolation, a football club openly saying they welcome people of all sexual orientation and from all ethnic backgrounds is a good thing. But football fans have never been so constricted in what they can and cannot do. And I’m sure I wasn’t the only person who had a slight sense of unease that announcements such as this might eventually lead to the authorities criminalising yet another aspect of fans’ behaviour.

I’ve known a few homophobic people in my time, but not that many. Many years ago I worked in a warehouse in Essex with a guy who once boasted to me about going “queer-bashing”. He was sacked a few days later after the warehouse owner found out he was an arsonist, so I’m reluctant to try to figure out the thought processes at work in his head. (Actually, he set off one of the fire extinguishers on his first day and soon after made a comment to me about what a fire-risk that warehouse was, so his sacking might have been a close escape). Other forms of homophobia are, of course, far less overt than that.

But I’ve never found much evidence of it at City. I remember watching a game in the Platt Lane in the early 1980s when two gay guys were sitting just in front of me. After a couple of remarks about Joe Corrigan’s arse they gave each other one very long snog. And do you know what? No-one gave a toss.

There is also the problem of deciding what homophobia is exactly. Here are some definitions from Wikipedia, but how the police interpret behaviour is entirely different matter.

If it is now a possible criminal offence to wave a fake banknote that portrays a footballer as the Queen, and when disagreeing with gay adoption on a radio discussion show can lead to being questioned by police (link), what other aspects of fans’ behaviour will now come under scrutiny?

Will making comments about Sun Jihai and chip shops be deemed racist, and will fans soon be ejected, or worse, if they sing: “Dodgy keeper, takes it up the arse”?

All of which brings me to inflatable bananas. Not that I’m connecting bananas to taking it up the arse necessarily.

There have been widespread reports that hundreds of inflatable bananas were confiscated by Old Trafford stewards on Saturday and not returned. Posters at Wookie’s Lair and Bluemoon claimed some bananas were popped by stewards.

It’s just the latest example of fan behaviour that was once commonplace, now being ruled as unacceptable. And it’s another stark reminder of how something has been lost from football.

Fans are warned for swearing, and manhandled and ejected by private security guards for doing what music fans continue to do with impunity in the same arenas.

I found a video at Bluewatch today, called Death of a game, birth of a monster. While I don’t agree that the game has died, it certainly feels like it’s in poor health right now. You can view the video at YouTube here.

~ There’s been plenty of discussion about whether the re-introduction of inflatables is a good thing. But I like the comments from Wookie’s Lair’s SaddleworthBlue:

To me it says: Fuck the false and OTT ‘coolness’ of football fans. Fuck the newcomers who want to be customers for a product. WE’RE here for a fucking good laugh and a piss up.
Draw win or lose, it’s all about the booze!

Historically speaking, that comment is spot on.

City was founded in 1880 by Anna Connell, the daughter of Arthur Connell, who was the minister at St Mark’s church in West Gorton.

Rooted in the temperence movement, the club sprung from the Working Men’s Meetings which were designed to offer young men a wholesome alternative to being in the pub.

Within a decade City had become known as the Brewerymen, and had Stephen Chesters-Thompson of Chesters’ Brewery as president.

Drink 1 Temperence 0.