Amsterdam; What should we do next ?

Five Celtic fans have been given jail terms for their involvement in violence in Amsterdam before the Champions League match against Ajax.

A sixth fan was acquitted after the group appeared at Amsterdam District Court on Thursday.

Two of the men were sentenced to two months, one to one month and two to six weeks while one was acquitted, according to lawyer Kerem Canatan who tweeted from the court. He said they all had two weeks to appeal.

Mr Canatan tweeted that the judge has awarded damages of €250 (£209) to three police officers and €500 to one officer.

Twenty-two of the Scots were released with some paying fines of up to €500 (£420), Dutch police said.

That was the outcome of yesterdays trial. Which wasn’t entirely unexpected.

In order to get a swift trial, the supporters “previous ” lawyers had opted not to cross examine police witnesses.

Effectively this meant that it was the word of the police against the word of the fans.

They never really stood a chance.

They were charged with acts of violence in a public place, the nearest equivalent over here would be affray. Affray is a kind of catch all charge where the public are endangered by the accuseds actions. Its a very difficult charge to defend.

Originally, it was used over here to round up people who were fighting outside a pub, and instead of trying to find out who started it and why, they would simply arrest and charge everyone with affray, and claim that passers by were in danger.

Very difficult to get out of. If you are ever faced with an affray charge, stay well away from magistrates courts. You’ve got no chance.

The magistrate will always come down on the side of the police, and convict.

Thats why it was a mistake to try to call the police out for their lies in a straightforward contest. It was never going to go well. All the magistrate wants to know is if violence happened, and were the accused involved.

When he said they could have walked away , that was the nail in their coffin.

Now, we all know, via video and eye witness accounts what really happened, and a trial at a higher court would have examined all the evidence. And perhaps there would have been a different outcome. In fact, there would probably have been a different outcome, but the key in winning court cases is to fight the charge, and only the charge.

In this case, it was the word of the city police against the word of some foreign football fans, with the local magistrate deciding what went on.

The police said they arrested some fans who were involved in the fracas, there was a risk to public order, and they did not leave the area, but instead, got involved.

That was the charge they were facing. They were involved, and the court would not have taken long to decide on their guilt.

So, what happens next ? Apart from the fury of the Celtic support ?

Theres the appeal, and it will need a huge effort from the defence to quash the conviction. As far as the law is concerned, they were involved in the violence, whether they started it or not, whether they were just in the wrong place or not, whether they were defending themselves or not.

None of that matters on an affray charge. Believe me. I know.

There are bucket collections at the game tomorrow to help with their appeal defence, there will be other fundraisers taking place, but unless the defence centres on the charge, and not on apportioning blame, it will fail.

Thats the way these things work.

So, what can we do ? Or what can the fans do ?

They are on their way home now, released until the appeal. There has been talk of not going back to face the court, and just ignoring it.

Unfortunately, this is now a high profile case, and that is not possible. Scottish police would be at their doors the same day the court said they hadn’t turned up. Then things would just get worse for them.

To contest an affray charge, you would need witnesses that say they were not in any danger from the supporters, but they were in danger from the undercover police. That way, they are guilty of causing an affray.

Anyone know where we can find a few thousand witnesses ?

And there-in lies the answer. Each and every supporter must file a statement that says he saw what happened, and saw the police instigate the incident.

It will take them months and months just to read them, and as a result, the case will drop out of the public eye, and be quietly dismissed.

If it does go ahead, Celtic fans who are able to , should attend the trial, or at the very least , attempt to. All behaving, and more importantly, all enhancing the reputation of the support abroad.

The prospect of hundreds, maybe even thousands of Celtic fans returning to the city will also make them consider dumping the case.

Bear in mind, they are not going to get the conviction over turned. The best they can hope for is for it to be dismissed, due to the unreliability of the police statement-several of them, I believe , don’t quite add up.

Thats where the extra few thousand defence witnesses come in.

I’m no lawyer, and my experience, which is quite considerable,  comes from the occasional appearance in court, largely due to made up police evidence.

But I would go down the line of getting the case dropped, by overwhelming the court with evidence for the defence. They have to read it, and consider it. That, too , is the law.

A few thousand statements would give them something to begin with. Just the thought of everyone going back to give evidence should be enough.

Go for it.

There have been calls for the club to do something, but in reality, there is very little they can do, except offer financial support.