Abandon matches and issue points deductions if fans go onto the pitch

Season of shame: (Main) Grealish is attacked by a Birmingham fan, (1) James Tavernier is confronted by a Hibs fan, (2) Sterling is abused by Chelsea fans, (3) Aubameyang has banana skin thrown at him (4) Dele Alli is hit by a plastic bottle
Tony Evans11 March 2019

The attack on Jack Grealish on Sunday in the Second City Derby at St Andrew’s made the nation gasp in horror. Things were compounded when an Arsenal fan jumped advertising hoardings to celebrate his team’s second goal against Manchester United and appeared to push Chris Smalling.

Three decades on from Hillsborough, nobody should be stupid enough to advocate a return to fences — Grealish’s assailant should be the only one behind bars — but the sense that football supporters cannot be trusted is deeply rooted in the national consciousness. In reality, the assault on the Aston Villa midfielder is so jarring because it is so rare.

Birmingham reacted quickly by banning the thug for life. Arsenal acted with similar rigour. Grealish’s attacker will likely receive a jail sentence. He deserves it and fans who clapped the brute should be embarrassed. No wonder Grealish celebrated with gusto when he scored the only goal of the game.

It’s no consolation to him, but yesterday was not a pure reflection of the wider game. Even so, to ignore what happened this weekend would be a mistake. Entering the pitch is a criminal offence but football cannot leave the protection of players to the courts.

This derby’s long history of disorder — a Birmingham fan was jailed for four months in 2002 for slapping Villa goalkeeper Peter Enckelman — means the Football League and the FA cannot turn a blind eye. The game’s authorities do not like deducting points, but sanctioning Birmingham would send a strong message that would make supporters across the game sit up and take notice.

Good stewarding is crucial, too. At St Andrew’s, one of the stewards appeared to be more interested in taking his anger out on Grealish than maintaining order. Arsenal’s matchday staff are generally effective but a number of incidents this season suggest standards of behaviour at the Emirates are slipping, the bottle thrown at Dele Alli in the north London derby being the most serious. Placing the onus of protecting players on part-time employees with relatively little training is wrong, however.

The best answer to threats against player safety? Referees should abandon the game if the welfare of any participant is at risk. The match should have been stopped the moment the punch landed on Grealish’s head.

Yes, this opens up the fear that some supporters will invade the playing area to stop proceedings if things are not going their team’s way, but points deductions and stadium closures would act as a deterrent. Merely fining clubs has little effect on fans.

It’s simple: stay off the pitch. Only an infinitesimal minority of fans cause this sort of trouble but it needs stamping out. Clear thinking by the football authorities would create a safer environment for everyone.

Football reflects the national mood and the worst episodes of hooliganism occurred in times of social and economic upheaval. It is no coincidence that 1984-85, the worst season of terrace violence, ran in parallel with the miners’ strike, one of the most divisive events in the post-war period. Brexit has exposed more rifts but it’s trite to conflate the attack on Grealish or morons storming the pitch at the Emirates with the political situation.

In Pictures | Jack Grealish attacked by Birmingham City fan

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Some would link yesterday’s events to incidents in Scotland. The most recent occurred on Friday, when James Tavernier, the Rangers captain, was accosted by a Hibernian fan. Again, context is important. Sectarianism underpins many of the Scottish game’s problems. That is nothing new and will not go away until the issue is addressed in everyday life.

Context is everything. The Birmingham-Villa fixture is one of the game’s most poisonous. For the past 15 years, League encounters between the clubs have had noon kick-offs on Sundays in an effort to reduce pre-match drinking. The authorities have done everything possible to stop the two sets of fans coming face to face but nothing has worked. Blanket segregation, superficially an answer to trouble, merely reinforces the sense of them and us and allows antagonism to build towards faceless ‘enemies’.

The people likely to misbehave are a minority but closing off vast swathes of a city to wider groups feeds a war-zone mentality across both fanbases. Perhaps more creative policing and stewarding and normalising matchday contact would take the sting out of a venomous fixture.

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