Wales fan blasts ‘embarrassing’ football top rule
A FOOTBALL fan has criticised a Cardiff city centre bar for reportedly telling him to cover his Wales jersey or leave.
Greg Caine went to Kongs on St Mary Street after watching Wales’ 5-1 win over Belarus on Saturday. He says he was playing a Pacman video game with friends for about two hours before being told he could not stay if his shirt was visible.
The 28-year-old says he has visited Kongs several times in a Wales rugby shirt after matches and never experienced any issues.
He believes his treatment on Saturday is an example of “prejudice” against football fans based on outdated perceptions.
“It’s embarrassing that clubs and pubs in Cardiff still have this policy,” he said.
“I love rugby and go to watch the Wales rugby team regularly, but I see the difference in the way the fans are treated.”
A Kongs spokesman said its policy on football shirts is for the safety of customers and staff, adding: “This means from time to time people may be either denied access or asked to leave the premises.”
Greg, a video journalist from Pembrokeshire, lives in Liverpool but travelled to Cardiff for Wales’ World Cup qualifier, which was Gareth Bale’s 100th cap.
He said: “It was probably around 10.30pm that we got to Kongs. I was with three friends who had Wales jerseys on, and two of them had bucket hats. They got in with no issue.
“As I got to the door, the bouncer said, ‘Oh you’ve got a football top on.’ The two bouncers were discussing it between themselves. I was like, ‘What’s going on?’ My mates had just gone in.
“They do have a sign on the door saying ‘no football tops, no fancy dress’. I said to them, ‘This is a stupid rule, I’ve been in here with a rugby top and had no problem.’ They were like, ‘Put your coat on and you can get in.’”
Greg says it was “boiling hot” inside, so he took his coat off after five minutes. For the next two hours, he had “no problems whatsoever”.
About 15 to 20 customers had Wales shirts on show, he says.
“I was having a very normal time down there,” he added. “I was genuinely playing Pacman with my mates, having a really PG time, with no lairiness whatsover. There were no Belarusians down there.
“About two hours passed and I was stood at the bar as a couple of people I loosely knew had come in and I was chatting to them. It was a bit embarrassing because one of the bouncers came up and said, ‘Put your coat on or you’ve got to leave.’
“I think it was a different bouncer to the ones from before. I said, ‘Well I’ve been in here for ages and not caused any trouble. There are loads of people with football tops in here and I’m not kicking off.’
“He said, ‘Yeah mate, it’s just my boss, it’s policy. To be fair I don’t really get it but maybe my boss doesn’t like football.’ It was a ridiculous situation. I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’”
Greg and his friends decided to leave. “I felt it was really unfair,” he added. “You do see worse on rugby days [than Wales football match days]. People get way more p **** d. You’ll see people passed out, covered in spew at 3pm.
“I think it’s just prejudice against football fans from ideas in the ‘80s and ‘90s that aren’t true anymore. I’ve never seen any trouble between two sets of fans at international level in Cardiff.
“You still do get idiots if Cardiff are playing Swansea, but this was an international match in the centre of Wales’ capital city on a national legend’s 100th cap, and you’re saying no football tops?”
Greg left Kongs and went on to enjoy his night at Walkabout and then Boom Battle Bar, without being told to cover his shirt at either venue.
A spokesman for Kongs said: “Kongs’ door policy is set in place for the safety of our customers and our staff.
“This means from time to time people may be either denied access or asked to leave the premises.
“This policy may not be suited for everyone but the safety of our staff and customers come first before anything else.”