Legia Warsaw Ultras - absolute nutters!

[Rood]

Did this last week before their Europa League play off match against Sheriff Tiraspol



and that was because they got fined (rightly in my opinion) after this display before their CL qualifier against FC Astana earlier in the month

 

[antohan]

I'm sure they feel it was well worth the fine. Fantastic atmosphere.

 

[Skizzo]

Wonder if they know all that smoke from the flares isn't good for you

 

[arthurka]

Looks brilliant...

 

[Trizy]

fecking hilarious .. fair play.

 

[prateik]

What was the reason for the 1944 banner?
Astana are from Kazakhstan .. and even if they were German, cant really blame current day Germany for the Nazis..
And if it was general awareness, then I think most of the world is already on board with the "Nazis were evil" message..

 

[Nick7]

Deflection I presume. They have neo Nazi's in their Ultras.

 

[edcunited1878]

Don't let anyone ever tell you football doesn't transcend sport....

 

[antohan]

What was the reason for the 1944 banner?
Astana are from Kazakhstan .. and even if they were German, cant really blame current day Germany for the Nazis..
And if it was general awareness, then I think most of the world is already on board with the "Nazis were evil" message..

It doesn't stop Holocaust memorials, films, etc cropping up everywhere. Are those wrong too?

 

[red_devil83]

That's pretty incredible as far as things seen at football matches go

 

[Ekkie Thump]

August 1st signifies the start of the Warsaw Uprising. Legia played Astana on August 2nd.

Here's how they memorialised it in 2014:


They were then kicked out of the Champions league for fielding an ineligible player against Celtic (in a tie they won 6-1). They then wheeled out this protest:

 

[notcool]

They got fined for what exactly? Speaking freely?

 

[antohan]

They got fined for what exactly? Speaking freely?

There's rules in place banning any sort of political message in a stadium. In fairness, it's not a bad rule, but in order to have it you have to punish ALL actions even if nobody in their right mind could disagree with it.

 

[TsuWave]

that spectacle alone is worth the price of admission, never mind the actual football

 

[notcool]

There's rules in place banning any sort of political message in a stadium. In fairness, it's not a bad rule, but in order to have it you have to punish ALL actions even if nobody in their right mind could disagree with it.

Who put that in place? UEFA? What a bunch of cnuts. Sounds like some polite English upperclass fanny's wet dream. Twats.

 

[antohan]

Who put that in place? UEFA? What a bunch of cnuts. Sounds like some polite English upperclass fanny's wet dream. Twats.

Well, personally I can see how football and its global exposure could be used to spread all sorts of wrong/vile messages. On topic, it would have been Goebbels' dream but he had to settle for Pathé style clips in cinemas... of Jesse Owens

The issue then is how to objectively/correctly separate right from wrong, so they ban it outright regardless. Probably a good thing given UEFA and FIFAs questionable judgement and ethics.

We are going to have a Summer World Cup in Qatar. Let that sink in.

 

[RedDevils23]

Slightly unrelated to the thread but my stepfather is from Poland and he has a really funny story regarding Legia Warsawa. Basically, he told me Legia Warsawa is the most hated club in Poland. I'm not sure how long ago this happened, but, one night, the night before Legia's match versus Jagiellonia Bialystok, the Jag. Bialystok fans found out which hotel the Legia players were staying at and started setting off fireworks all night until the police were notified and they were told to leave. They returned at around 3-4am and set off even more fireworks.

The next day, during the match, the Jagiellonia fans chanted "how'd you feckers sleep last night"

 

[RedCurry]

Why is there a need to ruin football also with politics? One of the few things I agree with governing bodies on.

 

[red_de_pologne]

Slightly unrelated to the thread but my stepfather is from Poland and he has a really funny story regarding Legia Warsawa. Basically, he told me Legia Warsawa is the most hated club in Poland. I'm not sure how long ago this happened, but, one night, the night before Legia's match versus Jagiellonia Bialystok, the Jag. Bialystok fans found out which hotel the Legia players were staying at and started setting off fireworks all night until the police were notified and they were told to leave. They returned at around 3-4am and set off even more fireworks.

The next day, during the match, the Jagiellonia fans chanted "how'd you feckers sleep last night"

It's the biggest club, hence the most hated. And disturbing opponents at night before a game is not exactly a new thing, happened during Euros as well.

 

[Scarecrow]

They're also known for their anti-Semitic chants and racist posters.

Impressive choreography though.

 

[::sonny::]

Best fans ever

 

[Physiocrat]

That's such an awesome UEFA picture

 

[Rood]

Who put that in place? UEFA? What a bunch of cnuts. Sounds like some polite English upperclass fanny's wet dream. Twats.

While I find the first video amusing as a 2 finger salute to UEFA, the other display has no place at a football match as far as I am concerned and I totally agree with the decision to fine the club, in fact there should be a bigger fine and maybe force them to play behind closed doors.

I assume there will be some families with kids at this match (or perhaps they dont go due to this kind of thing?) and they really dont need to be seeing a 10 storey banner of a soldier murdering a child - not to mention the TV audience. I would have no issue with it if it was football related and taking the piss out of rival clubs or celebrating past victories etc - but this is not the place for that kind of political statement.

Top atmosphere though and credit to the fans for that - didnt help the team though as they got knocked out in that tie anyway

@Schmiznurf seeing as you are in Poland, do you follow any of the fall out from this kind of thing out there?

 

[Schmiznurf]

While I find the first video amusing as a 2 finger salute to UEFA, the other display has no place at a football match as far as I am concerned and I totally agree with the decision to fine the club, in fact there should be a bigger fine and maybe force them to play behind closed doors.

I assume there will be some families with kids at this match (or perhaps they dont go due to this kind of thing?) and they really dont need to be seeing a 10 storey banner of a soldier murdering a child - not to mention the TV audience. I would have no issue with it if it was football related and taking the piss out of rival clubs or celebrating past victories etc - but this is not the place for that kind of political statement.

Top atmosphere though and credit to the fans for that - didnt help the team though as they got knocked out in that tie anyway

@Schmiznurf seeing as you are in Poland, do you follow any of the fall out from this kind of thing out there?

Don't follow it at all, even a lot of the polish friends I have don't follow it as not only do they believe the quality of football is far beneath the other leagues but they don't like the ultras that do stuff like this.

 

[Kostur]

What was the reason for the 1944 banner?
Astana are from Kazakhstan .. and even if they were German, cant really blame current day Germany for the Nazis..
And if it was general awareness, then I think most of the world is already on board with the "Nazis were evil" message..

Warsaw Uprising commemoration. It's on August 1st, most of the clubs in Poland commemorate one way or the other in the round that's played before/during/after the 1st.

UEFA's fine is ridiculous, you cannot present political-related shit, sure, it's a historical commemoration though. As for the second bolded, see the people parading in Hitler-quotes shirts in the USA doing nazi salutes.

FWIW I hate Legia but it's hard not to side with them.

 

[Ikon]

Wow what an amazing sight...!!

Im going to Youtube their previous displays

 

[Schmiznurf]

Warsaw Uprising commemoration. It's on August 1st, most of the clubs in Poland commemorate one way or the other in the round that's played before/during/after the 1st.

UEFA's fine is ridiculous, you cannot present political-related shit, sure, it's a historical commemoration though.

FWIW I hate Legia but it's hard not to side with them.

They did it with Wales, England and Scotland too when we had poppies displayed by the crowd to commemorate remembrance day, they're pretty ridiculous when it comes to not allowing clubs to remember.

 

[Rood]

Warsaw Uprising commemoration. It's on August 1st, most of the clubs in Poland commemorate one way or the other in the round that's played before/during/after the 1st.

UEFA's fine is ridiculous, you cannot present political-related shit, sure, it's a historical commemoration though.

FWIW I hate Legia but it's hard not to side with them.

when you say most clubs commemorate it, what exactly do they do?

Surely you can see that a banner like that has no place at a football match?

They did it with Wales, England and Scotland too when we had poppies displayed by the crowd to commemorate remembrance day, they're pretty ridiculous when it comes to not allowing clubs to remember.

Not sure I would equate poppies with a 50ft banner of a bloke with a gun to a kids head!
Definitely worth putting out that UEFA vid on Twitter though

 

[Schmiznurf]

when you say most clubs commemorate it, what exactly do they do?

Surely you can see that a banner like that has no place at a football match?




Not sure I would equate poppies with a 50ft banner of a bloke with a gun to a kids head!
Definitely worth putting out that UEFA vid on Twitter though

True, but looking at them fining them for poppies you have to imagine they would have fined Legia no matter what the image used was, just because of the minor political message.

 

[Kostur]

when you say most clubs commemorate it, what exactly do they do?

Some banners with 'we remember' kind of stuff.


Here's an example from Śląsk Wrocław's match couple of years back.

Surely you can see that a banner like that has no place at a football match?

No, I really don't. I mean, from 'we're going to get fined for this shit again' perspective I do, but other than that, no. Why would I?

Not sure I would equate poppies with a 50ft banner of a bloke with a gun to a kids head!

Perhaps that's the reason? A banner with a bloke with a gun to kid's head? Well shit, tough luck, that's exactly what happened during Warsaw's Uprising, there was no 'we spare kids and women' going on, it was a tactic of total annihilation of Warsaw. We (as in Poles) have got every right to commemorate that, as @Schmiznurf already said, UEFA like to take cheap shots at stuff like that. I wonder, have they banned/fined Galtasaray for booing Mkhitaryan when we've played (friendly or not) them in pre-season last year?

 

[Adam-Utd]

Their organisation and creative skills are impressive.

Shame they never reach any major finals, imagine them at a CL final

 

[Mrs Smoker]

Inspired by Idi i smotri most likely.

 

[Vashu]

On the political scene in Poland a topic of war reparations has come up lately. It's an oafish attempt (that can only crash and burn) from the local ruling party to counter legit criticism coming from EU as a whole, along with wide spread rumors of decreased funding being applied maybe even to the present European budget. The nationalistic politics are trying to instill siege mentality among the public and Legia's ultras are at best inspired by all that bullshit. They have a reputation for having links with this joke of a party and they deliver as they are percieved.

 

[Rood]

True, but looking at them fining them for poppies you have to imagine they would have fined Legia no matter what the image used was, just because of the minor political message.

Ye probably, so I suppose they might as well do something to piss off as many as possible since they are getting fined anyway!

Some banners with 'we remember' kind of stuff.


Here's an example from Śląsk Wrocław's match couple of years back.



No, I really don't. I mean, from 'we're going to get fined for this shit again' perspective I do, but other than that, no. Why would I?



Perhaps that's the reason? A banner with a bloke with a gun to kid's head? Well shit, tough luck, that's exactly what happened during Warsaw's Uprising, there was no 'we spare kids and women' going on, it was a tactic of total annihilation of Warsaw. We (as in Poles) have got every right to commemorate that, as @Schmiznurf already said, UEFA like to take cheap shots at stuff like that. I wonder, have they banned/fined Galtasaray for booing Mkhitaryan when we've played (friendly or not) them in pre-season last year?

Yes of course it is the big banner that is the main problem - I would prefer politics kept out of football but Im not too arsed about the slogan, but the imagery crosses the line in my opinion.
I wouldnt even call this a commemoration either, its more like glorification of war and clearly provocative. I dont think that booing a player is on the same level and its difficult to ban/fine for that since it happens all the time for various reasons.

 

[Sarni]

I don't know if it has been said already but there's been some misinformation going on in this thread.

Legia fans did not get punished for the banner at the Astana game. The 35k fine they received was for not meeting safety requirements during the same game as a couple of stairwells were blocked during the game.

 

[Sarni]

While I find the first video amusing as a 2 finger salute to UEFA, the other display has no place at a football match as far as I am concerned and I totally agree with the decision to fine the club, in fact there should be a bigger fine and maybe force them to play behind closed doors.

I assume there will be some families with kids at this match (or perhaps they dont go due to this kind of thing?) and they really dont need to be seeing a 10 storey banner of a soldier murdering a child - not to mention the TV audience. I would have no issue with it if it was football related and taking the piss out of rival clubs or celebrating past victories etc - but this is not the place for that kind of political statement.

Top atmosphere though and credit to the fans for that - didnt help the team though as they got knocked out in that tie anyway

@Schmiznurf seeing as you are in Poland, do you follow any of the fall out from this kind of thing out there?

That's so silly. Force them to play behind closed doors because they had a banner to commemorate a historical event where the whole city was destroyed? There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. They just put that banner on because the game took place days after the anniversary.

Fans have the right to display banners as long as they are not abusive. In this case there was nothing abusive about the banner at all and I do not get what is so controversial about it. It stated a historical fact (which often gets forgotten as more and more sources are talking about 'Polish concentration camps' and do not mention Warsaw uprising in the books at all these days, so it's good to remind Europe that we were actually victims during the war).

 

[Kostur]

Ye probably, so I suppose they might as well do something to piss off as many as possible since they are getting fined anyway!





Yes of course it is the big banner that is the main problem - I would prefer politics kept out of football but Im not too arsed about the slogan, but the imagery crosses the line in my opinion.
I wouldnt even call this a commemoration either, its more like glorification of war and clearly provocative. I dont think that booing a player is on the same level and its difficult to ban/fine for that since it happens all the time for various reasons.

1) It's not politics as I've said already.
2) Imagery is in line with what is a historical fact. How is it provocative? How can it be called a glorification of war when it was Warsaw that was nearly wiped out from the face of the Earth? It's provocative because they've mentioned who did it or what they did?
3) In the case I've mentioned it happened because he was Armenian. The weirdest thing about that booing was that it was the Turks who executed a genocide action on Armenians. It's like if a black skin player would be booed for having black skin, would you also say that it's difficult to ban/fine because booing happens all the time?

 

[Rood]

Im slightly disturbed about the fact that you Poles seems to think a 50ft banner of a Nazi soldier with a gun to the head of a child is all good at a football match. As I said already Im personally not too arsed about the slogan but it is still clearly against UEFA rules and in my opinion banners etc should stick to football and not politics/history/etc - do them about your rivals or celebrate your players or victories or whatever but all this stuff has no place at a football ground in my opinion.

Would the club have known about this in advance and okayed it?
or is this something the fans put together without knowledge of the club (in England the club have to pass any banner of that size)

 

[Rood]

I don't know if it has been said already but there's been some misinformation going on in this thread.

Legia fans did not get punished for the banner at the Astana game. The 35k fine they received was for not meeting safety requirements during the same game as a couple of stairwells were blocked during the game.

Not true - both the banner AND blocking of stairwells lead to the fine:
http://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/disciplinary/index.html#post_1134954

 

[Sarni]

Not true - both the banner AND blocking of stairwells lead to the fine:
http://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/disciplinary/index.html#post_1134954

Their director said it was for stairwells, only passing the message.