Telegraph Insight

THE intense focus on Englishmen abroad is, of course, the merited result of recent deplorable actions by the hooligan minority.

That behaviour tends to be focused at a national level -- with recent World Cup scenes doing nothing for the general reputation. But the memories of Heysel still have a bearing on the wary reaction to club sides and their followers in Europe.

Only last year, the supporters of sides such as Chelsea and Leicester returned to Blighty complete with horror stories about their treatment at the hands of foreign police. Attitudes of foreign authorities tend to differ according to the country visited and the club involved.

On this occasion, Blackburn Rovers have been fortunate that the excellent reputation of their fans and the experience of the Lyon police in handling foreign soccer fans, have made for smooth negotiations.

Lyon staged six World Cup games without major incident, including the high profile clash between the USA and Iran. And the French police place their accent on high profile presence rather than brute force and ignorance.

In addition, a delegation comprising Rovers secretary Tom Finn, Blackburn Police Superintendent Eddie Walsh, FA crowd control adviser Ivor Jolly and Rovers vice-chairman Richard Matthewman, had already visited Lyon to lay the foundations for a trouble-free trip. "In days gone by, fans were shipped in, taken straight to the stadium and herded out again," explained Finn. "We are not a club with trouble and Mr Walsh was able to confirm there wouldn't be problems and that the supporters could be treated as tourists.

"Unfortunately, we are English football supporters and, not too long ago and not too far away, there were difficulties and we are very mindful of that."

Having gauged the mood of their hosts, Rovers then had to tailor their packages to meet the supporters' requirements.

There are a number of factors that affect the final options. The FA have set guidelines for ticket distribution, although these have been relaxed over recent years.

The Office of Fair Trading also insist that the club does not have a monopoly on travel offers. So clubs are encouraged to have as much control as possible over their supporters while recognising that there will be independent fans wishing to travel under their own steam.

The club, therefore, offered to sell tickets for the game, as long as details of itinerary and accommodation were provided in advance.

Mr Finn explained: "There was a delay in providing this information, but it takes time to negotiate with the authorities. The fact that up to 200 supporters have filled in these forms showed there was a demand for this arrangement. It is as much for their own protection as anything else. If there are 100 fans booked into one hotel, the local police would want to know about it."

Those other 200 or so fans not travelling independently, with or without the club's knowledge, are on the official club packages. About 150 were on the £99 coaches which set off from Ewood at 11.30pm on Sunday, arriving in Lyon at three-star accommodation yesterday evening.

Another 50 were either booked on the £325 chartered flight, which was cancelled through lack of demand after the disappointing first leg result, or VIP guests travelling with the club officials and media.

Mr Finn explained the final choice: "We did not see this an an opportunity to make revenue. There is no margin in it for Blackburn Rovers. If we make money out of Europe it will be from the home matches.

"But we are happy about more going independently than with the club. You can be sure that trips we run will be run properly and we would like to encourage as many people to travel with us as we can.

"I would hope no-one would be able to say we were twice as expensive. You can fly cheaper, and stay in a cheaper hotel, but you cannot fly charter and come back on the same night."

Those supporters who have had no link with the club will be segregated from fans who have made their arrangements known, although both sets will be in a visitors' section.

And, with a bit of luck and a bit of common sense, those same supporters -- and a few more on top -- might be in another visiting section of another foreign stadium in a couple of weeks' time!

See also: 'Blue and white barmy!'

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