(Photo by BBC)
The FA have released multiple statements over the last week stating their concern with the recent spikes in anti-social behaviour at football games up and down the country. Pitch invasions seem to be happening on a daily basis over the last couple of weeks, with the final games of the season producing some tense and euphoric moments for teams and their supporters. However, what started as a celebration of a team’s scenario has now seemingly become an excuse for the cretins of humanity to rear their heads. Property is being destroyed, Players and managers are being attacked, it is all starting to get way out of hand.
The biggest example a few years ago was when Jack Grealish was sucker punched by a Birmingham City fan during Aston Villa’s feisty affair at St. Andrews in 2019 during the chase for promotion. Since then, things have gotten worse and worse without much being done by the FA.
The most notable examples recently were during the aftermath of the tense penalty shootout between Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United where Sheffield striker Billy Sharp was hit with a vicious headbutt by a Forest fan, which has resulted in imprisonment, a stadium ban and a fine. A few days later after securing their stay in the topflight, Everton fans stormed the pitch and Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira was provoked by an Everton fan, causing him to lash out. Whilst pitch invasions are hardly a new occurrence, this is the first time it is starting to really be seen for how it really is, dangerous. Arsenal manager Mikel Artera has called for the FA to find ways to stop them happening as they are endangering the players, staff, and the fans. Whilst this is a difficult issue to address correctly, it feels as if the issue is addressed for a few minutes and then tossed to the side entirely. No easy fix seems available, but what options are on the table and what can Football clubs and their supporters do in order to ensure safety at these matches before a tragedy occurs. How far will this be allowed to go before something catastrophic happens during one of these seemingly frequent pitch invasions. Something needs to be done.
But the question stands, what sort of measures need to be put in place to prevent this from reoccurring and what punishments should be used to deter offenders. The current set of reprimands doesn’t seem to be deterring offenders as it stands, with seemingly a slap on the wrist and a stadium ban to those who are caught, a rare few that are. The stakes were risen after the attack on Billy Sharp, with the offender receiving a 24-week prison sentence, 10-year ban from all football, a lifetime ban from Nottingham Forest, and a £500 fine for his efforts. Nottingham Forest are reportedly bracing themselves for further sanctions, with one of the punishments being that they may have to play their first Premier League game next season behind closed doors, (they do know that they have a playoff final still to play right?) and there is a possibility of points deductions for clubs in which these incidents occur again.
Now whilst this sounds heftier in terms of punishment, it clearly has not deterred others from entering the playing surface and trying to get into scuffles on it at all. Less than a week later the incident at Everton happened, when after a comeback of 2-0 down, Everton won 3-2 and guaranteed their stay in the Premier League for next season, an occasion that caused Goodison Park attendees to flood onto the pitch in celebration. During the invasion, fans were getting in the opposition players’ faces and giving them all kinds of grief. Whilst nobody was reportedly assaulted, two Everton fans ran over to Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira and provoked him, to which he responded by lashing out with a kick. A situation that was not necessary at all and could have ended a lot worse.
It seems like only a matter of time until a tragedy occurs during one of these invasions, but a clear solution seemingly isn’t an easy option. Lifetime bans sound scary on the surface, but this clearly isn’t stopping the droves of fans piling onto the pitch. A proper review on match day security makes sense, with better trained stewards and more importantly, more of them. But even then, 500 stewards are not going to be able to stop thousands of fans storming towards them, leading to possibly more injuries and incidents. Sanctions for the clubs such as points deductions or being forced to play behind closed doors are a bit unfair on the club in my opinion, but I suppose the idea is that these individuals are hurting their clubs and possibly making them reconsider if it’s worth it. However, this could bring up problems with rival supporters going into other ends and causing issues to knowingly get sanctions and points deductions for their rivals. A sticky situation. Even though for some reason prison time and a ban from the sport is still not enough to deter people. Punishing the individuals is definitely a correct approach, but stricter sanctions are needed. Looking at the security measures that the clubs can enforce is another key in solving this problem.
Obviously after the horrors of Hillsborough we can never have physical restraints such as fences around the pitches again, the struggle remains in policing that area between the fans and the pitch. Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson suggested closing the first two rows of seating and putting more stewards on every entrance to the pitch, an idea that sounds promising on paper, but something that a lot of clubs will probably go against due to loss of revenue.
The safety of the fans, staff, and players is of the utmost importance and right now it feels as if this is being swept under the rug by people who don’t have a clue on how to stop these incidents. Whilst it is a tough issue to tackle, the story stays the same every time. Something happens, someone gets hurt, a slap on the wrist and then the issue rears its ugly head again. We are eventually going to reach the point of tragedy, followed by statements that ‘something like this should never happen in the sport’, whilst the FA have been sitting on these words for a long time. Drastic measures need to be taken for the clubs, supporters, and local authorities in order to keep everyone safe at an event we should all feel safe at and be allowed to enjoy.
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