CHUCKED OUT FOR WEARING CITY SHIRT
A CARDIFF City supporter says he had his wedding anniversary present ruined – when he was ejected from West Bromwich Albion’s ground for wearing a Bluebirds shirt.
Martin Monnes-Thomas said he felt he was “treated like a criminal” when three police officers and four stewards escorted him and his wife, Michelle, out of The Hawthorns within five minutes of the start of Saturday’s game between Cardiff and West Brom.
The Bluebirds fan lives in Bridgend with his wife, who was born and raised in West Brom and is a Baggies supporter – and the pair thought the weekend’s fixture represented a perfect opportunity to celebrate seven years of marriage.
It started off as an enjoyable day with the pair soaking up the atmosphere ahead of the match.
Martin, an IT manager, and Michelle, a solicitor, both 36, enjoyed some good-natured ribbing with a section of home fans, with one dad asking if he was “the next Gareth Bale in the making”.
But the afternoon soured soon after kick-off, when a group of stewards approached their seats in the family stand.
One asked if he was wearing a Cardiff City shirt, to which Martin replied: “Yes, I’m born down that way, it’s nice to be able to wear it with my wife here too.”
Recounting the exchange, Martin added: “So he checked it again and said, ‘Right then, we are ejecting you from the stadium.’
“I said, ‘Sorry, say that again?’ “He said, ‘Your Cardiff City shirt, we’re kicking you out of the ground, you’re banned.’”
Martin said he offered to change his shirt, wear his coat over the top and was even willing to be relocated to a different section of the ground – but club officials said his face would still be recognised.
He added: “I looked up and there were three police at the end of the aisle and four marshals huddled round me, when I stood up, to escort me.
“And it wasn’t just escorting me to the edge of the stand, but right out of the ground, out of the gate.
“They surrounded me with my wife following behind wondering what I had done. We weren’t raising our voices, we were just in shock.”
They ended up seeing less than five minutes of the six-goal thriller, which West Brom won 4-2.
Insisting he’s not one to kick up a fuss, he said: “I’m not a hooligan by any means – I’m tepid at best!”
Now Martin has been left dismayed by the way the situation was handled.
“It was a really good day up until that point, until a guy twice the size of me turned up in an orange jacket and told me to leave,” he said.
“I was thinking I’d seen this on Crimewatch or something, like I’d done something really nasty. I thought it was absolutely unbelievable.
“To be treated like a criminal was absolutely disgusting.”
Martin has complained to West Brom, but the club said his decision to wear a Cardiff City shirt while sitting in the home areas was “not ideal” and had “the potential to be inflammatory”.
It added the actions of the stewards were “completely appropriate in the circumstances” and that no refund would be given for Martin’s match ticket or travel costs.
Martin said their whole weekend had been ruined by the experience.
He added: “My wife felt sick in her stomach. She couldn’t sit down. We went to eat a Chinese takeaway and she couldn’t eat it.
“It spoilt the weekend at the in-laws. “We sat there feeling the anger of it all, conned out of £40, and to be treated like criminals and pushed away, I felt used.”
In a statement, West Brom said: “We are aware of a number of ejections from home areas of Cardiff City supporters who were wearing Cardiff football kits.
“Ground regulations say the ticket purchases are for home fans only in home areas.
“Saturday was a fixture which posed its own particular challenges, it was a full house and visibility of away supporters in home areas of the ground is something we had to take action about.”