Pitch Invasion - Association Football

Association Football

Pitch invasions are not uncommon but not as frequent nowadays in top level football, but historically it was common for the supporters of the winning team in a major match, such as a Cup Final, to flood onto the pitch after the final whistle. For example, in Kenneth Wolstenholme's famous "Some people are on the pitch, they think it's all over – it is now!" comment on the BBC's television coverage of the 1966 World Cup Final, 'they' were fans who had encroached onto the pitch before the end of extra time.

Pitch invasions are less common in the modern football era than in the 1970s and 1980s. Somewhat surprisingly, it was during that period that fans were barricaded in the stands by fences; after the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, this form of crowd control was abandoned, yet pitch invasions became rarer. However, they do still occur, especially in the lower divisions.

Famous pitch invasions include:

• Celtic v Rangers (1909) Scottish Cup Final. At the end of the drawn replay, the crowd invaded the pitch to protest at the lack of a result and at the prospect of having to pay to watch a third game. The SFA withheld the Cup.
• Celtic v Inter Milan (1967) European Cup. As the final whistle blew, fans of Celtic flooded the pitch in jubilation as Celtic became the first British team to lift the European Cup.
• Hereford v Newcastle (1972) FA Cup. Non-league Hereford beat top-flight Newcastle 2–1 after extra time. There were pitch invasions after both Hereford goals and one at the end of the match.
• Manchester United v Manchester City (1974) Old First Dvision. There were pitch invasions few minutes after Denis Law scored the only goal for the visiting team, in match that would have given United hope of staying in old First Division had they won as it was the second to last game of the season. Although United is fate were not sealed with that goal, the pitch invasion confirmed United's fate as the match was abandoned 8 minutes before playing time had expired, along with negative results elswere.
• England v Scotland (1977) Home International, Wembley. Scotland won 2–1. Scotland supporters invaded the pitch and destroyed one of the goals. The scenes were broadcast live on UK TV, and this is identified as one of the key moments when football hooliganism caught the interest of politicians.
• Celtic v Rangers (10 May 1980). Celtic beat Rangers 1–0 during extra time and rioting ensued on the pitch at full-time. Mounted police had to break up the battling fans; this also led to the banning of alcohol from Scottish football grounds.
• Derby v Fulham (1983) Football League. This match was controversially never concluded after Derby fans invaded the pitch. Fulham required a win to be promoted back into the top flight of English football but despite their protests the match was never replayed and the result, a 1–0 defeat, stood.
• Everton v Wimbledon (7 May 1994). In an attempt to secure 40 consecutive years of top-flight football, Everton, who had been at the foot of the table for much of a dreadful season, needed to beat the in-form Wimbledon, who had not lost for 10 games in a row. The club's chairman had offered a trip to Las Vegas if they should make it 11. Despite one stand being closed due to construction the atmosphere was known as one of the greatest ever within Goodison Park. Although they went 2–0 down in the first 20 minutes, Everton managed a remarkable comeback to win the game 3–2 and secure survival. A mass pitch invasion ensued and many images of the emotional day were screened on the BBC's Grandstand.

• FC Schalke 04 v SpVgg Unterhaching (19 May 2001). Before the last round of matches of the Bundesliga 2000–01 season, Bayern Munich lead Schalke 04 by three points, but with an inferior goal difference. Schalke managed to defeat Unterhaching, 5–3. Shortly before this match ended, Bayern gave up a 90th-minute goal against Hamburg. Most Schalke supporters believed their team had won their first championship since 1958. The pitch had thus been stormed in celebration although the match in Hamburg was not concluded yet. In Hamburg, an indirect free kick was awarded for Bayern and Patrik Andersson eventually scored the decisive equaliser. In Schalke, the atmosphere immediately turned from joy and celebration to shock, disbelief and mourning.

• Watford v Luton Town (10 September) 2002 Football League Cup. 10 minutes before the game kicked off, Luton fans invaded the pitch, this provoked the Watford fans to do the same, resulting was a mass brawl on the pitch between the two sets of supporters and the game was delayed for 25 minutes before riot police regained order.

• Aston Villa v Manchester United (6 January 2002) FA Cup. Manchester United were 2–0 down with 15 minutes left of play, however Manchester United scored three times in 5 minutes and their third goal caused many Manchester United fans to invade the pitch in celebration.
• QPR v Crewe (26 April 2003) Football League Division 2 – QPR needed to win this game to pip Crewe of automatic promotion from Division 2. During the game there was a nasty coin throwing incident, and a QPR fan went onto the pitch to remonstrate with the referee. The game finished 0–0, meaning Crewe were promoted, and hundreds of QPR fans invaded the pitch.
• West Brom v Portsmouth (15 May 2005) FA Premier League. West Brom defeated Portsmouth 2–0; combined with other results, this completed one of the most amazing escapes from relegation in English football history. West Brom became the first team since the advent of the modern Premiership in 1992–93 to escape relegation after being bottom of the table at Christmas. Once all results came in and West Brom were secure, thousands of Baggies fans at The Hawthorns ecstatically ran onto the pitch. Many Portsmouth fans joined the celebrations, as one of the teams relegated at West Brom's expense were their arch-rivals Southampton.
• Reading v Derby County (1 April 2006) Football League Championship. Reading defeated Derby County 5–0 to secure the Football League Championship title. In the previous game Reading drew 1–1 with Leicester City at the Walkers Stadium to secure promotion to the FA Premier League for their first season in the top flight during their 135 year history. At the end of the game Reading fans spilled onto the pitch to celebrate these two achievements.
• Wigan v Portsmouth (29 April 2006) FA Premier League. Portsmouth defeated Wigan 2-1 to ensure Portsmouth's survival in the FA Premier League. Nicknamed "the Great Escape" by Portsmouth fans, this win marked the conclusion to an astonishing series of matches under their manager Harry Redknapp who had rejoined the club earlier in the year, after being sacked by fierce rivals Southampton, when Portsmouth were in a deep relegation crisis. It heralded the arrival of Portsmouth's new owner, Sacha Gaydamak, who bankrolled the signings made by Harry Redknapp during the January transfer window. Portsmouth fans invaded the pitch at the DW Stadium in jubilation and relief at staying up. This also marked the beginning of the saga leading to Portsmouth's eventual relegation and bankruptcy.
• West Ham United F.C. v Millwall F.C. (25 August 2009) Football League Cup. After West Ham equalised, fans invaded the pitch but did not cause a major disturbance. After West Ham scored twice more, hundreds of their fans invaded the pitch and riot police were hastily deployed. It took over six minutes for the police to clear the pitch. The minister for sport, Gerry Sutcliffe, was quoted as saying the violence between West Ham and Millwall was "a disgrace to football" and the pitch invasions were widely condemned by the FA and the players.
• FK Sarajevo v NK Široki Brijeg (21 April 2010) Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Fans of Sarajevo invaded the pitch after the game ended with 1–1 to show their disatissfaction over the result but also to protest because no one was still arrested for the killing of Vedran Puljić, a Sarajevo fan, on their away match in Široki Brijeg earlier in the session (4 October 2011).
• FK Željezničar v FK Laktaši (23 May 2010) Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Fans of Željezničar invaded the pitch after the final whistle to celebrate the return of the title to valley of cups after 8 years. During the whole match tifo were organized, like flares, big flags, transparents and card stunts. To celebrate the return of the title, but also to thank the Maniacs (ultras group of Željezničars fans) for their support, Željezničar organized a firework at the end.
• Bray Wanderers v Shamrock Rovers (29 October 2010) League of Ireland Premier Division. Shamrock Rovers won their first league title since 1994 and fans invaded the pitch in celebration.
• Southampton v Coventry City FC (28 April 2012) Football League Championship. Southampton fans invaded the pitch following back to back promotions to the Premiership following an absence of seven years in which the club entered administration.
• Manchester City v Queens Park Rangers (13 May 2012) Premier League. Manchester City fans invaded the pitch at the Etihad Stadium after winning the Premier League title In dramatic circumstances, coming back from 2-1 down against QPR in stoppage time. This was the first time the club had won a top-flight championship since 1968 and their first ever Premier League title.
• Fortuna Düsseldorf v Hertha BSC (15 May 2012) Bundesliga relegation play-off. During extra time, Fortuna fans invaded the pitch at Esprit Arena, causing a twenty-minute interruption. Police and security staff had to clear the pitch before the remaining 90 seconds could be played.
• Melbourne Heart vs Melbourne Victory (22 December 2012) A-League. Melbourne Victory fans invaded the pitch at AAMI Park after winning the Melbourne derby fixture 2-1 in dramatic circumstances against their bitter city arch-rivals Melbourne Heart thanks to Archie Thompson's match winning goal three minutes into stoppage time.