Football hooligans, or so-called “casuals”, from Lincoln are descending on Nottingham this Saturday, December 5th, for the English Defence League (EDL) demonstration, according to the EDL Lincoln Division Facebook page — an event which could lead to violent clashes between anti-fascist protesters and the EDL.
The event on Facebook currently has 90 confirmed attendees from Lincoln.
According to the group: “[The EDL] are not racist, but we want Islamic extremists off our streets!” However, one of the group’s administrators has written on the wall saying: “Let’s be out in force and do Lincoln and England proud, and show these Muslim scum we shall never surrender! For Queen and country.”
The same person has posted a link to a petition which advocates the banning of Islam.
Another member of the group made racist comments underneath a photo of some Asian men, saying: “Some nice people get let into the country… can’t believe the immigration system… all they do anyway is sell drugs and rape white women.”
A picture of a flag bearing the name of Lincoln’s gang of football hooligans, the “Lincoln Transit Elite”, has been uploaded to the page. Another picture of a flag uploaded includes a tribute to fascist organisations such as the BNP, National Front, and Combat 18. More pictures depicting football hooliganism, alongside pro-Loyalist images, have also been uploaded.
Lincoln Socialist Students society has organised a coach for people wishing to attend Saturday’s counter-demonstration in Nottingham.
UPDATE: Video below from the demonstrations (AP via SkyNews). Our colleagues at Impact Magazine (the official University of Nottingham Students’ Union magazine) have covered the protest in depth.