Attack by Napoli fans.

[RACHACE]

And just because you didn’t get any mither, doesn’t mean that it’s safe to wander off the beaten track and away from the main body of fans. You’ve seen the stories on here and at no point were there any attacks on large groups of blues. I’ll add another one - a mate of mine who was with 4 others, including a 67 year old, was chased after getting dropped off after the match.

As for this flag business, seriously why the hell should anyone take a flag down when the bar owner has no issue with it and it’s a bar located in the area where City fans were advised to drink anyway? And using that as an excuse for the trouble escalating is bollocks as blues were attacked the night before as well. So if the flag was taken down, Napoli hooligans across the city would’ve been stood down and no-one would’ve been picked off later on? Come off it mate.

No you’re probably right. Some blues would have been picked off regardless, especially seeing as we won but I’m not being funny, hanging a flag up is only going to increase your chances of being targeted in my opinion and I’d steer well clear of bars or areas where that was going on personally. That’s just me tho.

The bar owners allowing you to hang flags isn’t something I’d consider when judging whether we’d be ok in there to be honest. It’s like saying after a crash in a taxi that the driver said it was safe even though there no seat belts.

 

[roj]

It’s a fucking flag - fans all over Europe take them on their travels, including Napoli fans. Tell you what, why don’t you go the whole hog and tell City fans none of them should’ve travelled out there? While you’re at it, blame those blues for being in Mary D’s when Napoli fans attacked it the other week.

I'd fly a flag in Dortmund. It's about playing the game. Depends where you are. I mean bloody'ell you hear about how nasty Napoli is to away fans then fly a bloody flag outside the pub? I know shouldn't be this way but ffs.

 

[Edin blue]

Mate, I’m not deliberately making out that what happened was all your fault and suggesting for one minute that you deserved to be chased by some prick with a knife.

However, you cannot seriously tell me that you did not know about how Napoli away is amongst the most dodgy of away games your ever likely to go to.

Whether this bloke who asked you to take your flag down was a “fan” is probably debatable but he was someone who in all likelyness lives in the city and is proud of being a neopolitan. Therefore he and his ilk will take offence to English/Mancunian flags being put up in what’s their city.

All I’m saying is that maybe it’s have been a bit more savvy if you not to be in an area with city flags, singing etc. I know it doesn’t sound like a good time and you’ve paid to go and see your team so a good time is the least you’d/I’d expect. But Napoli away? C’mon, you know it’s not like Porto away and flags etc are likely to attract violence.

Italians too, sly as they come so leaving the area where the singing and flag hanging was what they were probably waiting for.

Glad you got away from the coward with the knife by the way.

Thing is i didn't sense any trouble brewing and I don't think anyone else in my group did either, I've done a lot of travelling with football and Napoli was bad but not the worst place I've been to. That was in the Ukraine a city called Dnipropetrovsk that was horrendous, the most corrupt police I've ever come across and the hooligans ran riot.

I take your point about about displaying a flag but it really didn't seem like an issue apart from this one guy who you would have never labelled a hooligan in a month of Sundays.

 

[Tim of the Oak]

The reality is that even the many Blues who didn’t weren’t colours, didn’t bring a flag and tried to stay low key stood out a mile. The Neopolitans are very distinctive looking and there is no comparison with going to say Turin.

Yes taking a flag can be more hassle than it’s worth and we gave up taking ours after Monaco, when our flag was banned from the Stadium. That said, anyone wishing to fly their flag in a sector designated for Away fans should be able to do so.

 

[M18CTID]

No you’re probably right. Some blues would have been picked off regardless, especially seeing as we won but I’m not being funny, hanging a flag up is only going to increase your chances of being targeted in my opinion and I’d steer well clear of bars or areas where that was going on personally. That’s just me tho.

The bar owners allowing you to hang flags isn’t something I’d consider when judging whether we’d be ok in there to be honest. It’s like saying after a crash in a taxi that the driver said it was safe even though there no seat belts.

The issue isn’t the flag. It’s the fact that they got isolated from a much larger group of blues. If that hadn’t happened then the flag becomes irrelevant as they wouldn’t have been attacked.

Earlier in the week while I was bored, I Google mapped Naples and as soon as you get just a few hundred yards from the port area, you can see how much of a dodgy shithole the place is. Narrow streets that scream danger in broad daylight and it looks like a shanty town in a third world country as opposed to a Western European city.

 

[M18CTID]

The reality is that even the many Blues who didn’t weren’t colours, didn’t bring a flag and tried to stay low key stood out a mile. The Neopolitans are very distinctive looking and there is no comparison with going to say Turin.

Yes taking a flag can be more hassle than it’s worth and we gave up taking ours after Monaco, when our flag was banned from the Stadium. That said, anyone wishing to fly their flag in a sector designated for Away fans should be able to do so.

Spot on mate

 

[roj]

It's not fair and it's all part of the fun along with Toure song in Holland. We're just a bunch of animals. Make european away games great again.

 

[RACHACE]

The issue isn’t the flag. It’s the fact that they got isolated from a much larger group of blues. If that hadn’t happened then the flag becomes irrelevant as they wouldn’t have been attacked.

Earlier in the week while I was bored, I Google mapped Naples and as soon as you get just a few hundred yards from the port area, you can see how much of a dodgy shithole the place is. Narrow streets that scream danger in broad daylight and it looks like a shanty town in a third world country as opposed to a Western European city.

I can only go off my own experience. We were an isolated group of 6 after the game back in 2011. 1 of which was a woman (my wife) and we walked back to the train station (piazza garabaldi) and got no mither. Loads of towns and cities can look shit holes on maps, Naples is rough though I agree but my main point is that I believe that a group including a youngster would have been better off doing there own thing from the moment they got there as opposed to going to and staying in an area where city fans were making it clear they were there.

 

[RACHACE]

The reality is that even the many Blues who didn’t weren’t colours, didn’t bring a flag and tried to stay low key stood out a mile. The Neopolitans are very distinctive looking and there is no comparison with going to say Turin.

Yes taking a flag can be more hassle than it’s worth and we gave up taking ours after Monaco, when our flag was banned from the Stadium. That said, anyone wishing to fly their flag in a sector designated for Away fans should be able to do so.

Maybe it was different this time around but it was a pick up point from what I recall in 2011 and not a designated area for city fans.

Was it a fanzone this time?

 

[Tim of the Oak]

Maybe it was different this time around but it was a pick up point from what I recall in 2011 and not a designated area for city fans.

Was it a fanzone this time?

No mate but the bars along the Port side were heavily policed and the Club encouraged us to stay in that area.

One difference in 2011 (apart from Napoli winning) was that many of Napoli’s firm headed back to the Airport and waited for City to arrive, after the game). They had second thoughts when a number of Blues charged them (so I understand).