Pitch Invasions
Pitch invasions happen when supporters move from the stands onto the football pitch, some times to deliberately disrupt a match. This is distinguished from times when, due to safety reasons, fans are let onto the pitch.
Examples of pitch invasions include the 1923 "White Horse" FA Cup final between Bolton and West Ham United at Wembley. Due to the overwhelming numbers in the stadium the police had to bring order back to the stadium. Another example is the 1977 British Home Championship match between England and Scotland, again at Wembley. After Scotland won 2–1, the "Tartan Army" invaded the pitch and managed to break down the goalposts, as well as cutting up the turf to take.
Solo invasions are more common although few in number. In some cases these are streakers who try to invade the pitch while nude. Supporters tend to view this as harmless fun. One such pitch invasion was at Euro 2004, in the final game between Portugal and Greece, when Jimmy Jump ran onto the pitch to disrupt the game. Another well known invasion was carried out by Karl Power, who sneaked into Manchester Uniteds team photograph before their Champions League game with Bayern Munich; his other stunts have involved the England national rugby union team and the British Grand Prix.
Read more about this topic: Association Football Culture, Fans
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