Some Toronto FC Fans Faced With Loss Of Seats Following Fracas
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Toronto FC May Revoke Season Tickets Of
Fans Involved In Recent Beer-Throwing Incident |
Toronto FC (TFC) parent company Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) "has identified some of the participants" who threw cups of beer at opposition players during the September 13 MLS Crew-TFC game at BMO Field as season-ticket holders "who now are in danger of losing their seats," according to Dean McNulty of the TORONTO SUN. However, the incident after the game where Crew fans "alleged that they were assaulted by drunken" TFC supporters in the parking lot "appears to be a lot less black and white." MLSE Exec VP/Venues & Entertainment Bob Hunter said that TFC management "has from the start of the two-year old franchise sought to enforce rules of behavior" at BMO Field. Hunter added that MLSE "will pull season-ticket privileges and even press criminal charges if fans get out of hand," but he also said that the "post-game fracas Sept. 13 was the lone blight on BMO's security file." Meanwhile, McNulty notes Crew fans "have begun a campaign at the league level to make an example of TFC fans by placing some sort of sanction against them or the team" (TORONTO SUN, 9/23). In Toronto, Brett Clarkson cited Crew and TFC fans at the game as saying that following the match, Crew fans "were led by security guards straight into a pack of brawler TFC fans." As TFC fans threw a "shower of plastic beer cups" onto the field, security "appeared to take no action against the beer tossers." TFC fan club Red Patch Boys President Jack DePoe: "We definitely have concerns about the fact that they can't seem to curtail this. And these concerns are well-documented." However, BMO Field GM Marc Petitpas said that the stadium "hadn't seen any violence between rival MLS fans before" the September 13 match. The fight in the parking lot and the beer throwing, "has caught the attention" of MLS, which "played down the post-game violence as a one-off but said it's being taken very seriously" (TORONTO SUN, 9/21).
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