To think ds will be eaten alive if he wears his team scarf to the match?

[BettyBotter]

We live near Blue Town. Ds (15) supports Red City FC but has never been to a premiership match. For Christmas we got ds and the whole family tickets to see the match between Blue Town and Red City when the reds play here.

Ds is insistent that he will wear his Red City scarf and cheer loudly for the reds despite us being seated right in the middle of the Blue Town stands. He thinks because he's only 15 and cute the blue fans won't mind.

I haven't been to a match since 1986 for a while, so have no idea what to expect. Will we actually get out with all our limbs intact if ds does this? Should I ban him from wearing anything red or is football now family-friendly entertainment where the home crowd ruffle the young lad's head and congratulate him when his team thrash the home team?

(For context Blue Town is fairly well known as 'rough' and there were no options to get tickets in family friendly seats.)

Tips, advice and sneering derision constructive comment welcome.

[AwfulMaureen]

I wouldn't let him. That's all....

[Sirzy]

Cant advise, although from my limited experience of premiership football you are probably right.

sad though that people have to basically hide who they support in order to not be victim of a small minority of idiots

[CrohnicallySick]

Well, when two neighbouring cities play each other near where I live, they wouldn't let you in wearing the opposite team's colours, they keep the fans as segregated as possible. So I think it would be very foolish to wear the scarf, and he ought to just keep his mouth shut.

[Manchesterhistorygirl]

Hide his scarf NOW! You are very right, sadly.

[BettyBotter]

Ds losing 2-0 so far

[ssd]

christ I hope you don't let him.....

[CajaDeLaMemoria]

Don't do this.

If you are sitting in the Blue Town stands, you need to at least behave like you are supporting them. You don't need to celebrate their goals (if they score them) but you do need to resist celebrating Red City goals. That's the etiquette. It's especially difficult if the two teams are rivals, but that is the way it is.

15 isn't young, either. He won't get special treatment, and the wardens may well take a special interest in him if he goes in a Red City scarf. They'll probably take it off him until the end of the game. They won't want trouble, and he'll look like he is deliberately trying to cause it.

I've sat in the "wrong" stands for a number of matches against various teams, but you need to do it right, or you have to buy away tickets.

I get the feeling that it isn't what you want to hear, and I don't want to make football sound like it's a bunch of hooligans, but there is absolutely no way I'd do this. And I'm female, so I get away with more than most at the grounds!

[TheBigJessie]

For godlets' sake no way should he wear that scarf!

[ssd]

have you never been to a game then?

[HappyTalking]

If he was to wear an opposition scarf in the home end at the premier league club i watch, the stewards would remove him from the ground.

If he sits there cheering the other team he is liable to be given some verbal abuse at the least.

Football is a lot more family friendly now but there are still some people who will look for any excuse to cause trouble.

[AwfulMaureen]

here...Man United Fan had his shirt torn off his back for doing the same

[HappyJustToBe]

My DB did this at 7ish and was fine. 15 would be fair game sadly.

[Suttonmum1]

Other home fans in the stand may object and the rules on ticket sales are such that he could easily get thrown out

[applepieinthesky]

What caja says. Spot on.

[BettyBotter]

Yoyu are all confirming what I thought. V helpful.
Ds wont believe me but he will believe you. I have told him of the Power of MN.

[BackforGood]

You used to be able to do this but sadly the stewards are totally lacking any common sense anymore. I saw 2 lads thrown out for jumping up when their team scored last year. We had gone with a school party and it was obvious some of the oarents would suprt the othr side, and everyone was joshing a bit and giving some friendly banter, but the stewards still threw them out although they'd done nothing.
I mentioned it to my BiL who has a season ticket and says if the person he normally goes with cant make it, hes not allowed to take anothr person with him, even as a season ticket holder.
So, sadly, id advise him to leave scarf at home and not celebrate any goals.

[ssd]

surely at 15 he'd realise this???

cant believe a 15 yr old would rather listen to mumsnet re advice about a football match rather than using his own sense or asking his pals but there you go

[AlexVause]

Oh no, please don't let him wear it.

[BettyBotter]

Ds says he won't celebrate any goals. I've read your answers to him and the penny is starting to drop slowly

I've also had to explain to him that there is no bloody point hiding his scarf in his bag either.

Thank you.

[fridayfreedom]

My friends son got beaten up for wearing a blue team scarf in red teams town. I wouldn't let him wear it.

[ssd]

seriously betty, surely he knows better than this?

[Weelady77]

my son goes to football every single week he wouldn't sit in the opposite teams end anyway but certainly not with his scarf on!!! At 15 there not cute in men's eyes!

[aderynlas]

If you sit in the oppositions end you dont wear colours and you sit on your hands. My dh could blend in quite easily but i would give myself away in less than two mins. Quiet in life but very noisey at football !!

[XiCi]

He sounds very naive for a 15 yr old. At the very least he will get alot of (probably very nasty) verbal abuse. I'd imagine that it would ruin the day for you and the rest of the family. You need to properly explain before you go what the consequences of his actions could be.

[BettyBotter]

ssd - not being streetwise he genuinely didn't.
he does now

Have to go out now but thank you again all.