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The Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF) is pleased to back the new England Fans Welcome Here initiative launched by the Donbass Arena in Donetsk which aims to make fans feel “welcome and confident” about their visit to the Ukraine. With two of England’s three group games taking place in Donetsk England Fans Welcome Here looks to secure the best service at a fair price for Three Lions supporters.

It’s 1982 and times, as well as shorts, were pretty tight. But on a sunny May afternoon Sheffield Wednesday host Norwich City in Division Two (that’s the Championship, kids) and a fan gets in on the action at the back post (3m 07s in) with a flying ‘header’. Wednesday celebrated that day but the Canaries had the last laugh finishing in the third promotion spot one point ahead of the Owls.

Many fans assume that they will be refunded for an abandoned match or given free entry to the rearranged fixture but that is not always the case – so well done AFC Telford United for bucking that trend and offering free admission to all after being forced to abandon their home game against Tamworth.

The Football Supporters’ Federation would like to pass on its condolences to the family and friends of Slough Town supporter Chris Sliski who sadly passed away on Sunday 8th April 2012. Chris was a regular at past National Federation of Football Supporters’ Clubs conferences and a well-known, much loved face at his club.

Italians sometimes get a bad rap for their supposed win-at-all-costs mentality but this footage shows that can be an unfair stereotype. It’s from the Coppa Italia Dilettanti (which translates as the slightly less glamorous sounding Italian Amateur Cup). Unione Sportiva Termoli are awarded a pretty harsh penalty against rivals Torres after Vittorio Esposito flings himself over in the box. The player steps up to take it and, suddenly, his conscience comes into play.

A significant chunk of the Football Supporters’ Federation’s inbox is made up of fans who have fallen out with their football club. Often it’s the club that is at fault but sometimes it’s the fan too. Occasionally it’s neither – just a small misunderstanding that can be solved with a little common sense from both parties.

Every few seasons the Football Supporters’ Federation carries out a survey to help us better understand the views of fans. We all enjoy the game in different ways – the FSF has members at hundreds of clubs from the top-flight to regional leagues – and all those experiences deserve respect. Please take a few minutes to fill in the FSF’s survey so we can legitimately represent the views of supporters across the issues that matter.

Both the Southern Division and North West & North Wales Division are holding meetings in April and they’d be happy to see you in attendance. As it’s both division’s Annual General Meetings (AGM) the format will be a little different to normal with more focus on divisional officers’ elections.

Merseyside Police have asked the Football Supporters’ Federation to pass on the following information regarding the FA Cup semi-final between Everton and Liverpool on Saturday 14th April 2012 (12.30pm KO). Licensed premises in the area of Wembley Stadium and the Globe have been divided between supporters of both clubs as such:

Pompey Supporters’ Trust (PST) has launched the next stage in its bid to purchase Portsmouth with a pre-share offer to fans. PST says the pre-share offer will show the administrator that fans can “offer more than just goodwill” – they can offer finance too.

Check out this Brazilian ballboy who pops onto the pitch to clear a goal-bound shot off the line during a match between Guarany and Sergipe to decide the Campeonato Sergipano (a regional league). Sergpipe break clear only to see their ‘goal’ stopped by the cheeky scamp, causing a near riot. While he might have prevented a goal, the ballboy couldn’t stop Sergpipe winning 1-0.

German side Magdeburg have a pretty proud history, they won the UEFA Cup in 1974 and beat Bayern Munich as recently as the 2000/01 season. However, they’ve not had a good time of it lately and sit rock bottom of the fourth tier. So for last Sunday’s game against Berliner AK ’07 fans decided to point out exactly where the goal was. It worked too with Magdeburg scoring their first goal in five games.

The hierarchy at Leeds United has refused to lift its membership ban on Leeds United Supporters’ Trust’s (LUST) chair and board members despite the Football Supporters’ Federation’s attempts to mediate. The club placed a “stop” on LUST board members’ individual ticketing accounts around four weeks ago – this is, in effect, an away match ban. Why? The club don’t like what LUST says.

Manchester United fans will receive only 1,700 tickets for their team’s visit to Sunderland’s Stadium of Light on the last day of the season. Under Premier League rules 3,000 tickets could have been made available for travelling fans but that number has been slashed because of “persistent standing”. This is the wrong decision for all fans, not just supporters of the Red Devils. Next time, it could be you…

Supporters Direct Scotland (SDS), the voice of football supporters’ trusts in Scotland, has published The Fans’ Plan – key recommendations to restructure Scottish football based on the results of supporters’ surveys over the past two years. SDS describe The Fans’ Plan as “a detailed analysis of the issues facing the game.”

A taster from the Football Supporters’ Federation’s email inbox: “I would be very interested to know what the FSF’s view is on the advertising of short-term ‘payday’ loan companies to supporters?” asks Northampton Town fan Bob Ward.

He’s not a bad little player is he? On Tuesday Lionel Messi broke Barcelona’s 60-year-old scoring record after grabbing a hat-trick against Granada at the Nou Camp. The little Argentine’s third goal was his 234th for the club and saw him break Cesar Rodriguez’s record set in the 50s. It was also Messi’s 54th goal in all competitions this season. Wow.

Football Supporters Europe (FSE) has invited fans from across the continent to take part in its inaugural ChoreoTrophy, supported by UEFA. This is the first award for “fan choreographers” and it aims to encourage and pay tribute “to this great and creative part of fan culture in Europe.” The Football Supporters’ Federation is an affiliated member of FSE, the representative body for fans across the continent.

This article first appeared in civil-rights group Liberty’s newsletter – an organisation the Football Supporters’ Federation has worked with before in defending fans’ rights. Since the “bad old days” of the 1980s football has come a long way. Stadiums are no longer unsafe, dangerous places but fans are too frequently treated as if hooliganism was still rife. And that needs to change…During 2010-11 the total number of arrests at football matches fell 9% from the previous year according to Home Office statistics. Only one in every 12,249 spectators found him or herself arrested at a match and there were no arrests at more than 70% of games. Not a single football-related arrest of England or Wales supporters overseas took place either.

Turkish Super Lig club Eskişehirspor aren’t one of their country’s most successful sides but they do have some of its most passionate supporters. When the Turkish FA banned flares the club’s fans responded by unfurling a giant, hole-ridden, banner under which supporters lit their flares with impunity and anonymity. Watch the simultaneously impressive and scary sight below.