Football needs to get a grip on pitch-invading morons ...and silly touchline antics
FIRST things first, there are NO mitigating circumstances for a fan assaulting a player with whom he or she has had no previous interaction.
None whatsoever.
That is not only a reference to the horrific attack on Billy Sharp by the cowardly Robert Biggs – at the Championship play-off semi-final between Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United – that is simply a universal truth.
In its wisdom, the legal system has given Biggs only a 24-week prison sentence, a £500 compensation order and a 10-year football banning order.
Where do you start with those punishments?
Imagine if someone did to you on the street what Biggs did to Sharp.
You would be disgusted if they got a mere three months behind bars – because that is all he will serve – and a financial slap on the wrist.
As for the 10-year banning order, it should go without saying that Biggs should not see the inside of a football stadium ever again.
If these incidents are to be stopped – and it is not the first time a player has been assaulted by a fan – the law will have to help.
But there is a broader issue for football to tackle now.
Keeping morons, hooligans, drunkards, drug-takers and thugs away from professional football pitches.
Actually, scrap that and just try to keep away anyone who does not belong on a professional football pitch.
That might be a fan whose celebratory giddiness has made him or her lose common sense.
That might be a cuddly kid who just wants to get close to his or her idol.
Tough.
Every club, up and down the league ladder, should have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to pitch invaders.
If a club wants to have an organised gathering of supporters on its pitch at, say, the end of a season, then fine.
But, otherwise, it is off limits.
The PFA has, rightly, called for a review of matchday security and for meetings with the UK Football Policing Unit.
Punishment for offenders should be draconian – that should really go without saying.
But there is another important tool that can be used to help tackle a problem creeping towards a crisis. If only in a small way. And that is for managers to get a grip of themselves on the touchline.
Maybe they could even trim their own time cavorting on the field of play.
You can debate the scale of its importance all day long, but setting a good behavioural example can never be a bad thing.
The atmosphere at the City Ground on Tuesday night was as febrile as you would expect for the second leg of a play-off semifinal. But it was made even more febrile when players and staff became involved in a melee after Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom slammed the ball into the midriff of Forest player Djed Spence.
Explaining his actions, Heckingbottom said: “Sometimes you need to do it and defend your players. We needed that fight, we needed a spark and intensity.”
Needed that fight?
That worked well, Sheffield United’s season is over.
The misdemeanour by Heckingbottom (left) may not have been a heinous crime, but it was typical of how so many managers misbehave in the technical area. That includes elite coaches such as Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola (both below), who give the impression that officials are there to be barked at.
And remember when Klopp invaded the pitch after Divock Origi’s late winner in a Merseyside derby in 2018? Mind you, the fad of managers parading on the pitch, postmatch, is well and truly here to stay.
Try telling the current generation of fans there was a time when it was a firm after-match handshake between the managers and then a smart exit down the tunnel, leaving the stage to those who had just entertained the crowd for 90 minutes.
Managers coming on to grab some acclaim is a harmless trend, but the dissent towards officials – check out Mikel Arteta’s recent behaviour on the touchline – is not.
For a final time, there are NO mitigating circumstances for a fan assaulting a player. None. But, as the behaviour of supporters continues to regress, it would do no harm whatsoever if managers try to set a better example.