Football Lads Alliance leader John Meighan has released a press release today for the Saturday 7 October demonstration against extremism.
The press release does nothing to answer the questions that anti-racists have asked about the FLA’s involvement with figures linked to far right extremism.
On Friday evening John Meighan, a leading figure in the Football Lads Alliance (FLA), contacted Stand Up To Racism via Facebook. He described us as an ‘evil, evil’ organisation.
This was in response to news that an important charity Walking with the Wounded (WWTW) had pulled out of working with the FLA. This happened after we’d informed WWTW of our concerns about some figures connected with far right groups who spoke on the FLA demo in June. We also raised concerns about some appalling racist and Islamophobic posts on the FLA Facebook page, which John Meighan has publicly admitted were racist.
We are not raising issues about the FLA because we believe all football supporters are racists or that they are all connected to the far right. In fact we believe the opposite. We are sure that many who marched on 24 June or who plan to march on 7 October will be shocked by the level of racism being pumped out by people who claim to support the FLA.
Toni Bugle and Mohan Singh, two individuals who have links to the far right, spoke on 24 June Fla demonstration. We asked the FLA if they would be speaking on 7 October. Bugle is part of Mothers Against Radical Islam (Maria).
Before the Maria demo at Downing Street in 2015 Bugle told supporters in a broadcast, “I don’t care what you are, I don’t care if you’re Britain First, I don’t care if you’re English Defence League, I don’t even care if you’re National Front” (see link here).
Bugle was the police and crime commissioner candidate in Bedfordshire for the English Democrats, an Islamophobic group with roots in the fascist BNP.
You can watch Bugle’s speech at the FLA demonstration here
The image below shows Mohan Singh sharing a platform with the former EDL leader and BNP member Tommy Robinson and Anne Marie Waters.
This was not the only time Singh shared a platform with Robinson—and he was linked with the EDL. Below is Mohan Singh pictured with EDL thugs.
You can see Singh speaking at FLA march here
Can you imagine the damage that could have been done to the WWTW charity and to the work it does if they had been linked to Bugle, Singh or other individuals connected to racist and Islamophobic groups?
What would Muslim veterans think if the charity was linked to Islamophobic speakers? And for that matter what would Muslim players and supporters think if far right extremists are given a platform again on the FLA demo on 7 October?
Well we’ve already had an answer to one question. Yesterday Gerry Farr, an admin on the FLA facebook page, announced that Mohan Singh who has been linked with far right extremist Tommy Robinson (above) over a long period, is to speak on 7 October.
John Meighan says he wants to meet us. Well we need some assurances first.
Are more far right linked individuals like Mohan Singh going to speak on 7 October, such as the fascist English Democrat (ex BNP) candidate Toni Bugle?
Are the FLA going to publicly condemn the kind of racist and threatening posting on their site that we saw after the Parsons Green attack including from people who openly say that are members of the English Defence League?
Are they going to publicly condemn the not too veiled threats to Stand Up To Racism’s joint convenor Weyman Bennett, the figure they chose to “blame” for contacting WWTW? One posting on our facebook page on Friday evening told Weyman that he would be ‘going for a swim’. There was a lot more abuse against Weyman on the FLA Facebook page, much of it threatening.
Will the FLA welcome anti-racists coming onto the streets on 7 October, if as they say their demo will be a no go area for racism and violence?
We need answers to these questions.
It’s not good enough for the FLA to make a cosmetic clean up job by keeping racists out of site so as not to put off respectable people. Although even after pledging to stop racist posting on the site the posts continue.
So is the FLA going to make a serious effort to deal with the fact that many right wing extremists have hitched onto their wagon?
We need a united response to the attacks in London and Manchester. Racists, Islamophobes and fascists can play no part in dealing with extremism, because they are extremists too.
Below is the press release from the FLA regarding their demonstration on 7 October
Football Lads Alliance (FLA) Second London March Against Extremism 7th October 2017
The Football Lads Alliance – also known as the FLA was founded on the 4th June 2017 by John Meighan and now boasts a membership of over 70,000.
The FLA is comprised of football fans and their families of all ages from all of the UK football clubs with many others from Europe. The FLA was formed to combat extremism of all types after the London, Paris and Manchester attacks.
The first march took place from St Pauls to London Bridge on the 24th June 2017 where around 10,000 football fans from many different clubs walked together for the first time ever as a peaceful protest against all extremism.
The FLA is non-political, and the founder John Meighan says “the FLA aims to raise key issues about extremism and terrorist attacks. Law abiding people here and in Europe have had enough and we needed a way to show that extremism is a threat to our society and is only getting worse.”
The movement is inclusive of people of all faiths and colour, is not racist and does not discriminate in any way shape or form.
John Meighan started to FLA in response to the attacks on London Bridge on 3rd June 2017.
Mr Meighan goes on to say “the FLA are currently in dialogue with multiple charities and are looking to partner up with donations to these charities from any proceeds raised. If you share our views and want to make the world a safer place for our children and grandchildren, then please join us and march in peace on the 7th October 2017.”
Another FLA spokesman explains “It is extremely unusual that UK Football Fans agree with each other as they are intense rivals at the games – however the threat of extremism has created this passionate group who will march together to protect their loved ones.”
The second FLA march will take place on the 7th October 2017 in London where more than 30,000 people are expected to take part.
