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UEFA response to Tottenham attacks was sickening

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Less than 24 hours before Tottenham kicked off at Lyon in the Europa League on Thursday, a gang of 50 hooded and masked yobs, some making Nazi salutes, pinned around 150 Spurs fans inside a pub as they pelted the windows with metal objects and lit flares.

Inside, there was panic as the supporters tried to take cover at the back of the bar then realised there was only one way out of the Smoking Dog pub on the cobbled streets of Lyon’s old town. But one man found his way into a back office and pleaded with the bar staff to help him barricade himself in using a small drinks fridge.

‘I’ve got a two-year-old at home,’ he said. ‘What happened in Rome can’t happen again.’

Under threat: Tottenham fans were attacked at the Smoking Dog pub in Lyon

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It is only three months since Tottenham fan Ashley Mills was stabbed before he was due to watch his team face Lazio in the competition’s group stages. In November, a gang of 50 Ultras making anti-Semitic chants attacked a bar in Rome where Spurs fans were known to be drinking. Of the three men arrested in Lyon, one was known to belong to a French far-right group, according to Rhone police, while two were known football hooligans. Are you noticing a pattern here?

Tottenham identified there could be problems, which is why they advised fans which pubs they should not frequent in the city. British police ‘spotters’ and FA representatives were inside the bar when the attacks began, while Spurs’ security team were on site within minutes.

The landlord of the Smoking Dog pub, Dave Eales, had concerns there might be trouble, too, which is why he warned the police, only to be ignored.

Lyon were quick to condemn what they called ‘inadmissible acts’ of ‘reprehensible violence’.

But UEFA? It is ‘nothing to do’ with us, they said. Until those fans step inside one of their stadiums on their matchdays they could not care less — as long as the branding around the perimeter of the pitch is up to scratch.

It was a sickening response, all the more negligent because Tottenham fans need UEFA’s support most of all this season.

Many I spoke to in Lyon feel they are being targeted not because of their football allegiance but for Tottenham’s Jewish heritage. There was defiance to continue following their team and determination to avoid what one called a ‘victim mentality’, but there was upset and frustration too.

Spurs fans, of all faiths and religions, are criticised for chanting ‘Yid Army’ inside football grounds, yet little is done when they are beaten up for supporting a club with strong Jewish roots. It just does not make sense. This right-wing vitriol is already overshadowing what is shaping up to be an exciting European journey for Spurs fans and UEFA need to act — now.

Trail of destruction: Tottenham fans have twice been attacked in Europe this season

The thugs’ motivations seem to have nothing to do with sport, but football is being used as a vehicle for hatred. That has to stop. It is not UEFA’s responsibility to act as an all-seeing dictator, but they must open their eyes and, at least, back up Tottenham and their opponents by condemning any violence.

Better would be to make a stand — in terms of serious punishment, not pitiful fines — to say that they will take football, the vehicle, away if this pattern continues. A trip to Milan is in store for Andre  Villas-Boas and his side in the last 16, after all.

But zero tolerance is just an empty phrase in UEFA’s book. Yet again it is the fans who will suffer. They either save their cash to go abroad to support their team and risk being pelted with missiles or they stay at home. Damned if they do and damned if they don’t. But it’s nothing to do with UEFA.

WHAT THEY SAID

‘She’s a far better example of what you need to be world champion than I ever was.’ — Victoria Pendleton reflects on BBC Sport on Becky James, 21, winning her first senior world title in the women’s sprint. James already looks at home in the British team but Pendleton helped pave the way for Britain’s female cyclists, let’s not forget.

Golden girl: Becky James was crowned world champion in Minsk over the weekend

...AND THIS IS WHAT I’VE BEEN DOING THIS WEEK

Shared a lift with Zinedine Zidane in a Lyon hotel. There was a cringe-making moment when we both tried to exit first, but then he nodded slightly and beckoned for me to go. I wasn’t going to argue...

Celebrated my team, Grimsby, reaching next month’s FA Trophy Final against Wrexham at Wembley. No matter what the competition, I can never understand clubs who throw away the chance to deliver a trophy; something their fans can physically see and enjoy. Now, where’s that black and white face paint...

Went to Milan to watch the derby. There’s a football ‘bucket list’ in my family and this was high on the list.

Flicks and tricks: Mario Balotelli (left) was in action in the Milan derby at the San Siro on Sunday

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK

So many athletes talk about a post-Olympics lull but not cyclists Laura Trott and Dani King, who won world team pursuit gold in Minsk this week. The third member of the gold medal-winning trio in London, Joanna Rowsell, is concentrating on the road so 18-year-old Elinor Barker, who is studying for her A-levels, slotted in instead. Remarkable.

  More... 'I was expecting a knife in the back...' Spurs fan tells of horrific ordeal with hooded thugs in Lyon's old town ahead of Europa clash James leads dominant Great Britain to top of Minsk medal table with two golds






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