Book description
Optical illusions are the stuff of magic - harmless entertainment
conjured up to both enthral and amaze, aren t they? Well, maybe not, as
it s not quite so amusing if the stunt takes the form of an episode of
the BBC s groundbreaking documentary series MacIntyre Undercover on
organised football hooliganism, the wizardry is conducted by
unscrupulous investigative journalists posing as big-time drug dealers,
and as a result the unwitting participant in the trick, avid Chelsea
supporter Jason Marriner, is charged with conspiracy to commit violent
disorder and affray, together with his friend Andy Frain, and Jason ends
up with a six-year jail sentence for a crime he didn t commit. This is
Jason s chance to put the record straight, present the facts from his
own perspective and challenge the reader, who may well have been one of
the 7. 4 million documentary viewers, to decide whether the programme
actually revealed the ugly face of football violence , or indeed showed
him plotting or committing any violence whatsoever, or whether the
original 344 hours worth of footage, secretly filmed over a period of 18
months, were distorted beyond recognition by cutting, editing and
stitching together clips from the original sequences to achieve the
programme s aim at any cost. Jason would be the first to admit that in
the past he had been a nuisance on the terraces, but this was the late
1990s and, with a wife, children and his own business, he had done a lot
of growing up and moving on. Fortunately, he had also developed the
strength of character needed to survive in prison with humour, dignity
and determination, and he shares his insights of life behind bars as he
tried to work with the system, despite the knock-backs, in order to make
it work for him in return. Good will always follow bad is Jason s
admirable philosophy about his experiences, but this shocking real-life
story serves as a warning to all: this could so easily happen to you.
Optical illusions are the stuff of magic - harmless entertainment
conjured up to both enthral and amaze, aren t they? Well, maybe not, as
it s not quite so amusing if the stunt takes the form of an episode of
the BBC s groundbreaking documentary series MacIntyre Undercover on
organised football hooliganism, the wizardry is conducted by
unscrupulous investigative journalists posing as big-time drug dealers,
and as a result the unwitting participant in the trick, avid Chelsea
supporter Jason Marriner, is charged with conspiracy to commit violent
disorder and affray, together with his friend Andy Frain, and Jason ends
up with a six-year jail sentence for a crime he didn t commit. This is
Jason s chance to put the record straight, present the facts from his
own perspective and challenge the reader, who may well have been one of
the 7. 4 million documentary viewers, to decide whether the programme
actually revealed the ugly face of football violence , or indeed showed
him plotting or committing any violence whatsoever, or whether the
original 344 hours worth of footage, secretly filmed over a period of 18
months, were distorted beyond recognition by cutting, editing and
stitching together clips from the original sequences to achieve the
programme s aim at any cost. Jason would be the first to admit that in
the past he had been a nuisance on the terraces, but this was the late
1990s and, with a wife, children and his own business, he had done a lot
of growing up and moving on. Fortunately, he had also developed the
strength of character needed to survive in prison with humour, dignity
and determination, and he shares his insights of life behind bars as he
tried to work with the system, despite the knock-backs, in order to make
it work for him in return. Good will always follow bad is Jason s
admirable philosophy about his experiences, but this shocking real-life
story serves as a warning to all: this could so easily happen to you.
