The Petrov tribute flag that is surfed for just one minute is now banned by the club
DON’T BAN STAN BANNER
As some fans will already know the complaints of nine ‘Villa fans’ has lead to the club deciding to ban fans using the ‘One Stan Petrov’ flag during the 19th minute one-minute applause for the club captain.
On the 19 Minute mark of the Aston Villa game vs Everton, when Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov received his traditional tribute of a one-minute applause and fans chant ‘One Stan Petrov, there’s only one Stan Petrov’, in L8 of the Holte End, a ‘One Stan Petrov’ flag was ‘surfed’ above the heads of the Villa Supporter’s group Brigada 1874. After that minute, it is folded and packed away.
This banner has since been banned from appearing then at Villa Park, because the club received complaints from nine ‘Villa fans’ after the Everton game. If it blocked the views of these ‘supporters’ , it couldn’t have blocked their view for more than a matter of seconds. This is the same amount of time you’d lose looking at your mobile phone to check text messages or to find out other scores.
It seems on further investigation that these fans have a problem with the ‘atmosphere fan group’ Brigada 1874 now being on their patch ,but why be mean-spirited and a kill-joy and single out the banner, when others have gone to the trouble to create it, to further support Petrov and add to the occasion and atmosphere of the 19th tribute?
As one Villa supporter eloquently put it on a forum, it’s akin to ‘complaining about flowers being left after a car crash’.
Please sign the petition (on the right-hand side of this page and CONFIRM it when you receive the confirmation email) to ask the club to reconsider and reverse this short-sighted decision.
Let supporters support and let common sense prevail. UTV.
'Hello, is that Aston Villa? Yes, I'm ringing about that flag you have at the start of games. It blocks my view. Can you please ban it?'
Points to Consider
The Big Villa Flag being surfed before games is OK, but this isn’t?
Before Villa Park matches, the club orchestrates the surfing of a huge flag before the game (a welcome initiative), which blocks the views of several hundred Villa fans. Would the club ban that if nine kill-joy fans complained? After all, some fans enjoy to watch the warm-up of the players and they pay god money to do so. The difference is this is a club-controlled exercise. If anything is not orchestrated by them, then it’s perceived as a threat. A huge lack of understanding and trust of fan culture doesn’t help. Aston Villa FC is not a branch of Argos that we are consumers of, we pay, but we also want to support our club and its players.
No Compromise or discussion?
The Brigada 1874 group of Villa fans who occupy L8 have decent communication channels with the club, yet, haven’t even been given a chance to surf or the flag in another way (not that another way is really needed). They have just been told there is no compromise, it’s banned and they will be under surveillance at the next game against Swansea.
Does it only take nine complaints to remove anything from Villa Park?
If so, then lets all call the club to ban the kill-joy ‘Villa Nine’. Unfortunately in society, there’s always been naysayers and kill-joys, who never considered other people’s feelings and the bigger picture. Here, we are talking about nine people opposing the wishes of thousands of Villa fans and it might be in the interests of [their] health and safety not to be at Villa Park.
Supporters pay a lot for match tickets – let them support.
For the cost of going to a match, to have such regulation of harmless and supportive intentions, it’s akin to an infringement of civil liberty. For the amount of money paid, it’s not as if the treatment at football grounds fans get equates to decent value. Witness the fiasco at the Boleyn Ground on the opening day of the season. If you treat people like animals, they’ll end up behaving like them.
Is the banner complaint, just an excuse to moan about a group of fans trying to create some atmosphere?
Maybe the ‘One Stan Petrov’ banner is an excuse for a bunch of fans to have a go against the Brigada 1874 group, because god forbid they actually want an atmosphere in the Holte End. From experiences on MOMS, some Villa fans have misunderstood the Brigada group. They are not ‘communists’, ‘fascists‘, ‘republicans’, ‘Celtic fans’, ‘politically motivated’ etc, etc. They only use the word ‘ultra’ as it’s part of the football lexicon meaning being a passionate fan, and their main aim is simply to vocally support their team at games. That said, Brigada 1874 should show consideration to other fans especially in the early days of moving to L8 of the Holte.
If they were a proper ‘ultra group’ like the Drughi of Juventus, there would be hundreds of banners and flags behind the goal in the Holte, and the group would just laugh at the club, if they were told nine ‘supporters’ had complained. If you don’t want an atmosphere or noise at Villa Park, then stay at home.
This is a matter of principle for all football supporters to stand by
This is not anti-social behavior, it’s not criminal…it’s in the interest of the club to have a passionately supported team, don’t make fans guilty for trying to support their club
What would Stan Petrov think?
Now, that’s an awkward one for the club…and the nine ‘supporters’
MOMS is not a member of the Brigada 1874, but we are a member of the Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF), whom support our stance on this issue.
Follow MOMS on twitter – @oldmansaid
[...] the group surfed the banner during the 19 minute applause for Petrov at the Swansea game, despite the club’s ban on its usage during that time, the club seem to be intent on forcing it’s will, despite calls for common sense on the [...]