Mike Ashley, who owns Newcastle United, has had a ticking off from the boys in blue. While watching us getting humped (deservedly) by an excellent Arsenal team on Saturday evening, he was – as he often is – in the away end with the travelling fans. And he drank a beer.
The bastard.
Apparently police received a complaint from a member of the public. They’ve not said what the complaint actually was. I’m reckoning it was along the lines of “how come I can’t get a beer while I’m watching the football, but he can?”
Mike’s (lawyer’s) response is that he had been given the beer and been told it was non-alcoholic, which is about as weak as being pulled over for tonning down the M6 and saying you were about to **** yourself. Not to name any Alex Fergusons. Thing is, doing 100+ down a major motorway is still somewhat dodgy. Drinking a beer (incidentally, while standing up – another offence punishable by death according to some health and safety *******) shouldn’t really be on the same scale.
Thing is, I’m not sure if it’s an actual law he broke. It’s a Premier League regulation that you can’t drink beer within sight of the pitch. I’ve been to grounds where the steps up to the seated area have yellow boxes painted on them which you’re not allowed to so much as dip your toe into if you’re holding a beer. I’ve been told off for it, even when my back’s been to the pitch and it’s half time so nothing’s happening anyway. Utter lunacy. Note that this is Premier League – I don’t believe the same restriction holds for the lower divisions. It certainly doesn’t for rugby where you can knock back a bottle of JD while sat in your seat for all they care.
Then there’s the whole “standing” thing which gets my goat. Grud forbid we go to a football match and actually ******* enjoy ourselves. What kind of world would that create?
******* madness. Yet another example of the laws and bureaucracy and sheer ******* muppetry that has me looking for another country willing to accept me.