The police at Xerez.

[Dave Redshaw]

Having attended last weeks Xerez v Malaga match it was like going back to the bad old days of the seventies and eighties in England. Following the previous encounter of eighteen months ago, when some Malaga 'fans' decided they wanted to rip up the seats  and throw them at the police, there was always going to be some kind of reaction from the authorities. But what I witnessed went completely over the top, as at half-time the riot squad waded into the Malaga fans indiscriminately - I was lucky not to be battered with a baton myself. I'm all for law and order at Spanish grounds but sometimes - and this is not the first time I've had experience of this - I think the police don't have the first clue how to deal with the minority of troublemakers. For the most part the Malaga fans are good-natured, especially the Malaka Hinchas section to which most of us ex-pats belong, but there is a certain element that give the club a bad name (they shall remain nameless). Surely the police can isolate this minority of morons and not tar us all with the same brush. Walking to the ground, and then entering it, was like a trip to The Den many moons ago.

[Simon]

Sad to hear that, Dave.

I have to say that any kind of violence here in Barcelona is extremely rare these days - especially since Laporta banned the Boixos Nois from Camp Nou. Furthermore, the Mossos d'Esquadra (the autonomous police) are much more 'softly softly' than the Policia Nacional used to be and the fact that Espanyol and their Brigadas Blanquiazules are out of the city centre in Cornellà means that as potential clashes are less likely, us real fans get left in peace.