It had been coming. This season has seen bananas land at the feet of black players while thuggish throwbacks to the darkest days of the 1970s and 80s were staged outside The Den.
A relentless tide of unpleasant ‘incidents’ finally reached a head in Birmingham on Sunday when a fan punched Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish in the back of the head. Islington then witnessed its own deranged tribute to this act of stupidity when a man ran onto the pitch at the Emirates and shoved Manchester United defender Chris Smalling, while ostensibly ‘celebrating’ a goal.
? “You absolute numpty”
The last thing we wanted to see today, another pitch invader, this time at the Emirates ? pic.twitter.com/M5AZ6WO9T4
— Soccer AM (@SoccerAM) March 10, 2019
Whether it’s rising knife crime on our streets, vitriol on social media or violence in our football stadiums, they are all symptoms of an illness that is affecting our country.
Society as a whole has become a much angrier place over recent years. Political extremism has emboldened those on the fringes of society who now feel justified in attacking footballers, shouting racist abuse or even murdering MPs.
“Something has to be done”
One of the most disturbing things about the Grealish incident was the way in which the flat cap-wearing Peaky Blinders wannabe idiot was cheered as he left the pitch. The tribalism of society was laid bare as men, women and children celebrated an assault on a 23-year-old brought up in the same city as them. While an angry nationalism currently rails against Britons of a different skin colour or place of origin, a local tribalism justifies this kind of behaviour against people who happen to be wearing the football shirt of another team.
“A Birmingham steward even saw fit to give Grealish a kicking for having the audacity to celebrate with his own supporters.”
Talk of putting up fences at grounds once again and caging supporters like animals is grossly unfair on the vast majority of fans who act in a law-abiding manner. But something has to be done. It is not good enough for clubs to simply denounce the actions of an individual they reject responsibility for as a “so-called fan” and issue a lifetime ban.
Docking points again raises the flaws of collective punishment for the actions of a mindless individual. But Birmingham and Arsenal must both receive fines that cannot simply be shrugged off with the stroke of an accountant’s pen. The authorities must make clear that failing to ensure a safe environment for players will have a serious financial impact.
But how to ensure these incidents don’t happen again? A steward is as the chant goes “just a man in a jacket” and a poorly paid “man in a jacket” is hardly in the best place to risk injury in dealing with violent fans. A Birmingham steward even saw fit to give Grealish a kicking for having the audacity to celebrate with his own supporters.
Football clubs can afford to spend millions on a back-up left back but seek to make savings on the policing of matches. Hopefully these incidents will finally make every team realise that ensuring their prized assets can play in a safe environment is something worth making an investment in.
