It appears unlikely that East Anglian derbies will be played away from Sunday lunchtimes in the foreseeable future after the findings of the internal police inquiry into last April’s Portman Road game between the Blues and Norwich City were made public.

A Freedom of Information request made by the BBC revealed that the report largely blamed the staging of the match on a Thursday evening for the disorder which took place.

After the game, Norwich City complained that the policing had been "utterly incompetent" and "grossly negligent" with around 100 of their fans reportedly still outside the ground when the match kicked off.

Suffolk Police's professional standards department said in the report: "The critical issue above all else in respect of the cause of the disorder was to move the fixture from its traditional time of midday on a Sunday to an evening kick-off.

"The evening kick-off afforded rival fans the opportunity to consume large quantities of alcohol, an obvious aggravating factor in this case."

A Town spokesman says the report contained inaccuracies, particularly with regard to the reasons for playing the game on the Thursday, which was the day before the Easter weekend, and they will seek to address them at a future meeting: "We have only recently gained sight of the full report but it contains some significant inaccuracies that we are already in the process of raising through the appropriate channels.

“These discrepancies include the decision-making process to play the game on the Thursday, as well as the claim that the club sold tickets for home areas to away fans as a result of a voucher scheme, which simply isn’t the case.

“A meeting with all parties is already planned for February when we will be seeking to iron out these inaccuracies. Until that time, the club will be making no further comment on this issue.”

Despite the report, Supt John Everett of Suffolk Police felt the operation — which led to 19 arrests and 13 ejections - had been a success: "We didn't have any significant disorder. We had a very, very small number of minor injuries and no significant damage to pubs, which we've seen in the past with these derby games. Of course, we're more than happy to learn and to react positively to constructive criticism."

Photo: Action Images

Ipswich24 added 09:24 - Dec 13 Not a lot of point talking about this really as there wont be one for quite a while
0

Greybritain added 09:25 - Dec 13 I could have told them that in one sentence, without needing to waste time and money on a report. Did they really think staging the game the evening before a four day bank holiday was a going to pass uneventfully?
0

KenDubZ added 09:31 - Dec 13 That was jokes haha
0

Benters added 09:45 - Dec 13 well as its been said,fancy having the game on the day before a bank holiday! I finished work at 12 and was in town at 1:) there were town fans pickled by the time i started.Lets face it if you like a drink before the game,you had from 11 until 7-30 to do so!! I still cant believe they had it at that time !!
0

AlanMahon2011 added 10:02 - Dec 13 Ipswich vs Colchester then
0

dan_itfc added 10:06 - Dec 13 Atmosphere wise in and around the town and in the ground (until 8pm) was cracking. I don't see why their kicking off over an issue regarding their fans missing the kick off, to be fair just as much if not more Town fans missed the kick off aswell, it was just a case of how long you wanted to shout at each other. We gave it until 7.40 and made our way to our seats, anyone could of done that whether they were Blue or Yellow

0

yorksblue added 10:10 - Dec 13 Wouldn't matter when it was staged, Suffolk Police are absolutely useless and always have been on matchdays.
0

grumpyoldman added 10:45 - Dec 13 yorkblue anyone can you make sweeping statements like that, where is the evidence, has there been large scale problems no, have there been minor problems yes. Is this the fault of the police no its ignorant idiots looking for trouble or being too pis**d to know better, are you one of these fools or have the police done something else to upset you?
0

nitroblue1970 added 10:58 - Dec 13 a lot of town fans were hammered before the game, in hindsight it may have eased the pain of the result.....but im just wondering....did this report say that the match will be reinstated to its TRADITIONAL sunday lunchtime slot!...how about the more traditional, boxing day and Easter Monday!..less chance of alcohol abuse by both sets of supporters surely....no shops open to be ransacked and any public order offences will be minimised because the "public" are at home with their families!

0

nitroblue1970 added 11:00 - Dec 13 Irrelevant anyway as there wont be a derby for a few years...............
0

gypo added 11:24 - Dec 13 Nothing to do with the train break downs then !! Play it when it should be played 3:00 Saturday
0

cphtractor added 11:25 - Dec 13 Are any other derbies forced to ko Sunday lunch-time?
0

AlanMahon2011 added 11:35 - Dec 13 Wont be play norwich for a long long time.
0

WeirdFishes added 11:45 - Dec 13 Bit pointless really, not gonna be one for about 20 years at this rate
0

buryblue77 added 11:46 - Dec 13 Hopefully the Budgies will stuff it up 2nd half of the season so that our new look rejuvinated team next year can hand them a thrashing!!!! Otherwise this is completely irrelevent!!!
0

26_Paz added 11:47 - Dec 13 kill joys
0

Cheshire_Blue added 11:59 - Dec 13 Don't forget the budgies always go down with the Xmas decorations!
0

yorksblue added 12:09 - Dec 13 Grumpy You need to open your eyes mate. I've seen, yes seen, endless acts of police incompetence in and around the ground over many years, where, with positive and decisive action, incidents would not have occurred. Road closures, dealing with away fans, communication to name just a few. Instead, they sit around and turn a blind eye. So don't lecture me.
0

simonsays added 13:06 - Dec 13 Last season's kick off time at PR was nothing short of ridiculous. However I don't see why it can't be played on a Saturday at 3PM next season. There will be a derby next season as we will pull away from the bottom and they will fall apart after chrstmas as the reality of their task kicks in.
0

SouperJim added 13:11 - Dec 13 One year I even heard someone say a rude word. However can the police be expected to cope?
0

BlueVelvet added 13:25 - Dec 13 The police make such a meal of these things. It was quite pathetic the way the police convoyed coaches up to carrow road - rolling road blocks, motorcycle outriders, they luv it, they can play at being important, we probably had a bear in the air - convoy, rubber duck good buddy and all that stuff. The iisue at PR were down to bad policing, which if I was ITFC having to pay the police bill (pun not intended) I would have asked for a complete refund. Get a grip chief constable.

0

arc added 14:09 - Dec 13 The report also raises concerns voiced in many quarters that the evening kickoff enabled the Town team to be drunk before kickoff.
0

CleggMustGo added 14:49 - Dec 13 Won't be a derby for years, they aren't coming down and we aint going up. Thousands of pounds wasted on a report we could have all given the answers to in 30 minutes - The Police cocked it up.....again
0

stiffshorts added 15:01 - Dec 13 suffolk police would be better off spending OUR money (tax) on solving all the outstanding murders & missing peeople in the county? Yah?
0

ITFC4daprem added 16:11 - Dec 13 makes sense
0

Blogs 295 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls