There is a sliver of irony that Klopp should see a player injured by a pitch invader

PITCH invasions are not a new phenomenon – far from it.

There were some people on the Wembley turf towards the end of the 1966 World Cup final, as Kenneth Wolstenholme told the nation.

None of them accidentally poleaxed a player, as far as I know, but they should not have been there.

And since then – just as before then – there have been punters galore clambering over hoardings, mainly to try and celebrate with their heroes.

There have also been sinister intrusions, one of the most recent being by the Birmingham City supporter who sucker-punched Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish earlier this year.

That supporter went by the name of Paul Mitchell and his 14- week prison sentence and 10-year ban from football was a pitiful punishment for a heinous and cowardly crime.

There is a potential Paul Mitchell in each pitch invader, which is why there should be zero tolerance on the issue.

Even streakers ceased to be funny as soon as the novelty of Erica Roe’s Twickenham dash, in January 1982, wore off. As Jurgen Klopp so succinctly put it: “You see a man with his d**k swinging around. Who wants to see that?”

Quite.

And Klopp was absolutely spot on when making it plain that Adrian’s ankle taking a whack as he was inadvertently slide- tackled by a slipping supporter post-super Cup was no laughing matter.

It was freakish, for sure. And freakish things can happen in celebration, even without unbalanced fans.

Remember Steve Morrow being dropped by Tony Adams and breaking his arm after the 1993 League Cup final?

But a fan should not be among the players at any stage, even though after-game invasions en masse have hardly been uncommon.

Liverpool have written to UEFA on the matter, but the truth is that, short of erecting fences, it is almost impossible to stop every idiot who wants to get on the pitch. And while Klopp was rightly annoyed, it was hard not see a sliver of irony in that annoyance being conveyed by a manager who invaded the pitch after his side had scored a late goal in the febrile latter stages of a Merseyside derby at Anfield.

Klopp’s punishment for that offence was a paltry £8,000 fine.

He is in the vanguard of new-school managers who cannot wait to get out there once the referee has called time. It certainly does not have to be a cup final shoot- out to have him cross the white line. A 2-2 home draw with West Brom was once enough.

And he is certainly not alone in that respect. Pep Guardiola has been known to not only get out there among his own men, but to give an opposition player, Nathan Redmond, the benefit of his wisdom.

For that distasteful cameo, the FA got tough… reminding Guardiola of his responsibilities.

Managers on the field after the final whistle is not strictly a modern

phenomenon as those who can, for example, recall David Pleat’s Maine Road dash in 1983.

But it is fair to say that a firm handshake, a wave to the crowd and a sharp exit was the old-school norm. Not any more.

Klopp may be extreme, but there are plenty willing to follow suit. Of course, he has a right to be with his players. He is the manager, not a fan.

We can see the irony, but Klopp has no responsibility for the guy who could have inflicted, albeit without intention, a far more serious injury on Liverpool’s goalkeeper.

And who, with any sense of joy, would like to see Klopp change his effervescent character?

But if the man who slid into Adrian was taking his lead from Klopp, it is just a reminder – albeit a bizarre one – that managerial behaviour can influence supporters.

And that is something Klopp, Guardiola and many others should bear in mind when they are behaving far more reprehensibly than merely getting among their victorious boys.