Fan's View Pitch Invasions

Berliner said:
Wasn't there a "rogues gallery" in the Oxford Mail after the Northwich game? Loads of people of all ages, shapes and sizes got banned as I recall.
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A few of us got into a scuffle with those that ran on the pitch, reason we called them f*****g idiots and it could cost us with the then blue square chairman Brian Lee and his ethics.
 
SteMerritt said:
"Cancel Culture".... :rolleyes:

Times have changed, the pitch invasion used to be a common thing in Cricket but was stopped in 2001, we haven't had celebratory pitch invasions in football as a massive thing for years (well, either that or we've been a bit rubbish for about 20 years, which, granted, is probably more the case 🤣). I remember doing it myself back in 1985 when Langan fired us into the top flight, and after some of the big cup games in the early to mid 80s, but it had pretty much died out by the time the 90s came around, there wasn't an invasion when we won promotion in the 90s after the Peterborough win from what I recall.
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I'm guessing you haven't watched much football recently then? Pitch invasion for every promoted side. We pitch invaded when we reached Wembley for the first time, and again when we were promoted from League Two.
 
WuTang said:
The reason I say it comes down to cancel culture stems from having German connections and watching football in Germany as a home and away fan.

Drinking beer - Banned in England due to the minority who might ruin it. Germany, focus on punishing the minority who drink too much, but don't punish the majority of well behaved fans who can drink and behave (and plenty can't!)

Standing and return of safe standing - Banned in top tiers of England and facing long process to reinstate due to a minority who could ruin it. Germany, traditional terracing, despite plenty of fan incidents and occasional violence, they do not punish the majority by banning it, they punish the minority and let rest enjoy it.

Pitch invasions - England calls to ban them. Germany, they can lead to violence at times but they focus on punishing the minority, not the majority who enjoy them sensibly like Stuttgart surviving on the final day.

It's football culture, you can treat it how you want to, I prefer the German methods personally.
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I don't disagree with the essence of what you say as regards the UK and Germany but it is in no way 'cancel culture' - why didn't you just throw in 'woke' as well? No one is 'being 'cancelled'.

It's down to the unsympathetic way our game has been administrated for years on end and an over-riding view from many (not least of all the mainstream media) that fans are 2nd class citizens- to be tolerated and told what to do, rather than consulted as to what we want and what might work best (incidents like the Euro final debacle simply exacerbate that). There is no justifiable reason as to why safe standing can't be reintroduced and yet the football authorities drag their feet and fans in seats continue to stand.
 
Big Ron said:
I don't disagree with the essence of what you say as regards the UK and Germany but it is in no way 'cancel culture' - why didn't you just throw in 'woke' as well? No one is 'being 'cancelled'.

It's down to the unsympathetic way our game has been administrated for years on end and an over-riding view from many (not least of all the mainstream media) that fans are 2nd class citizens- to be tolerated and told what to do, rather than consulted as to what we want and what might work best (incidents like the Euro final debacle simply exacerbate that). There is no justifiable reason as to why safe standing can't be reintroduced and yet the football authorities drag their feet and fans in seats continue to stand.
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Oh and things are not helped by the various thick-headed ex-player pundits from across the media condemning the actions of all fans - people who probably haven't paid to see a game since they were kids (if then) and have no understanding of what being a real fan means.
 
I say we cancel all emotion from football and make it a pure exchange of value. Sit in your seat and shut up.

I've never pitch invaded even when we got promoted v wycombe. I just dont think it's the crime of the century. People get carried away with passion. If they do it sensibly which happens from 99.9% of the people who go on then it's not the crime of the century.

Football is about magic moments. Calling for huge bans and fines for smoke bombs, pitch invasions, persistent standing even sucks away the atmosphere and the people who create the atmosphere for some people.

I've never set off a smoke bomb or invaded a pitch but I admire the gusto of the people who do. Some people on here would be stunned by fan culture in other places in the world.
 
WuTang said:
But vehicles are ALREADY banned from speeding? It still happens, it still leads to incidents. Last time I checked, we tend to ban and punish the individual drivers, we don't ban everyone else from driving on the M4 :)

If you wish to punish the majority for the actions of a minority then go ahead, but you can't complain if two drunken idiots fight in the North Stand next season and it leads to games behind closed doors... oh wait, you probably would complain!
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Yes I would complain, and I would blame this on the actions of those involved. The biggest issue our club faces right now is getting a new stadium, and to do that we need to win over the support of people who think that football fans are drunken, violent idiots. Sadly, whilst clearly a very small minority, we still attract people to football who are exactly that.

I've been to well over a thousand games, home and away for nearly 40 years. I haven't yet felt the need to get involved in a fight, attack or intimidate opposing players, shout racist or homophobic insults or be so drunk that I can't control myself. Does this make me less of a fan? Not showing enough passion?

We've seen a huge increase this season in families and children attending. These are our future fans. How do you think they'd feel if a fight took place in front of them?

Times have changed, sadly some football fans seem incapable of doing the same.
 
Scotchegg said:
Yes I would complain, and I would blame this on the actions of those involved. The biggest issue our club faces right now is getting a new stadium, and to do that we need to win over the support of people who think that football fans are drunken, violent idiots. Sadly, whilst clearly a very small minority, we still attract people to football who are exactly that.

I've been to well over a thousand games, home and away for nearly 40 years. I haven't yet felt the need to get involved in a fight, attack or intimidate opposing players, shout racist or homophobic insults or be so drunk that I can't control myself. Does this make me less of a fan? Not showing enough passion?

We've seen a huge increase this season in families and children attending. These are our future fans. How do you think they'd feel if a fight took place in front of them?

Times have changed, sadly some football fans seem incapable of doing the same.
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Whataboutery at it's finest, what a post :oops:
 
With pitch invasions nowadays they’re normally associated with celebration, but the pitch invasions we’ve seen this last weekend have been marred by a few incidents of unacceptable behaviour.
It has been said this week that a player could be killed and that isn’t a comment I think has just been thrown out their, but a comment of real worry that this could happen.

What the FA and the EFL and EPL are going to do about it is anyones guess and no doubt there will be plants of opinions and suggestions as to how to combat this problem.

I do hope the football authorities do take some sort of action and implement an answer for this problem.

The last time I went on the Grenoble road pitch was after winning the semi final against Rushden and Diamonds and from my recollection nit was good natured and thousands of am fans celebrating and ar one point a lot myself included went to the Rushden fans and applauded them

The previous time was near the end of the 1-0 win over Shrewsbury but being told to get of the pitch by Shotts as the game hadn’t finished….oh happy days, long may they return.
 
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WuTang said:
But vehicles are ALREADY banned from speeding? It still happens, it still leads to incidents. Last time I checked, we tend to ban and punish the individual drivers, we don't ban everyone else from driving on the M4 :)

If you wish to punish the majority for the actions of a minority then go ahead, but you can't complain if two drunken idiots fight in the North Stand next season and it leads to games behind closed doors... oh wait, you probably would complain!
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But speeding is a rule put in place that polices everyone due to the actions of a few people. Speed limits make things safer for everyone, and stopping pitch invasions will make things safer too. No matter whether you agree with the principle, it will make things safer for the players won't it?
 
battman said:
But speeding is a rule put in place that polices everyone due to the actions of a few people. Speed limits make things safer for everyone, and stopping pitch invasions will make things safer too. No matter whether you agree with the principle, it will make things safer for the players won't it?
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Ban fans from attending all together, that's even safer isn't it?

If Oxford reach the Championship for the first time in over 20 years after years of failed attempts, for the first time in my adult life and many of our fans entire lives, I want them to run onto the pitch in joy and tears. It's an amazing sight to behold, it's a joyous outpouring of passion and emotion you don't see in other sports, it's what makes football so special. Why rob these fans chances of a lifetime because of 3 idiots in Nottingham, Manchester and Burslem? They have nothing to do with my football club and their actions should not ruin an amazing occasion for thousands of other fans around the country.

I go back to Germany, hooligans run across a terrace and attack opposition fans, ban terracing and it doesn't happen, it's safer right? No, because terracing is enjoyed by thousands of well behaved fans around the country. Drunken fans cause trouble, ban drinking inside stands, it's safer right? No, because drinking is enjoyed by thousands of well behaved fans around the country.

Punish the idiots, give them bans, give them jail time, let the children and families celebrate with their heroes as is tradition.
 
WuTang said:
If you banned all vehicles off the road ALL road accidents would be solved too!
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Bad analogy, mate. The equivalent to banning all vehicles off the road would be banning footballers from the pitch to stop invasions. That would be stupid.
Upholding the ban on spectators from going on the pitch is not the same.

I was pretty unfussed about it until I saw players getting assaulted. That’s just unacceptable and I’m not sure there’s any way of stopping that other than ensuring no fans go on the pitch.
 
WuTang said:
Ban fans from attending all together, that's even safer isn't it?

If Oxford reach the Championship for the first time in over 20 years after years of failed attempts, for the first time in my adult life and many of our fans entire lives, I want them to run onto the pitch in joy and tears. It's an amazing sight to behold, it's a joyous outpouring of passion and emotion you don't see in other sports, it's what makes football so special. Why rob these fans chances of a lifetime because of 3 idiots in Nottingham, Manchester and Burslem? They have nothing to do with my football club and their actions should not ruin an amazing occasion for thousands of other fans around the country.

I go back to Germany, hooligans run across a terrace and attack opposition fans, ban terracing and it doesn't happen, it's safer right? No, because terracing is enjoyed by thousands of well behaved fans around the country. Drunken fans cause trouble, ban drinking inside stands, it's safer right? No, because drinking is enjoyed by thousands of well behaved fans around the country.

Punish the idiots, give them bans, give them jail time, let the children and families celebrate with their heroes as is tradition.
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But bans and punishments only come after the horse has bolted, I'm talking about preventative measures that clubs need to put in place to keep the players safe.

The fact that your first response is to come up with and absurd hypothetical about all fans being banned is that you're not willing to debate this in good faith and take the safety of the players into consideration. I think it's quite selfish to bemoan prevention of players being attacked because it would impede on your ability to celebrate on some grass instead of on concrete terracing. You don't own the stadium or even rent it, so it's not up to you to decide where you're allowed to go.
 
I would normally err on the side of resisting sanitisation of football, but I see this differently.

I think the historical context of a pitch invasion is a fairly spontaneous outburst of excitement and fans run on to the pitch to celebrate. This seems fine to me, assuming nobody is clobbering the opposition players at the same time!

What we seem to be seeing now is a highly pre-meditated pitch invasion, seemingly from fans who seem more obsessed with getting videos and pictures of themselves on the pitch. What made me most annoyed about this recently was the end of the Forest game and the fan who sprinted straight over to their manager Cooper and put his arm around him for a selfie.

Why would Cooper want to celebrate the win with successive pictures and videos with a bunch of blokes who should know better!? And when I say should know better, I don't mean simply being on the pitch, I mean being obsessed with getting pictures of themselves for Instagram/Facebook or some nonsense like a 13 year old girl. The manager and players should be allowed to celebrate the win properly. It's a classic example of that one individual thinking them and only them are the most important person there instead of enjoying the moment in a communal celebration.

Unfortunately it seems to have become so pre-meditated now that I can't see any way back beyond the authorities clamping down on it. It's unfortunate, and you'd like to think fans could reign it in themselves, but as it seems to be the selfish idiots obsessed with social media who are to blame, they are not going to worry about the repercussions for anyone else. If they get their photo or video they'll be happy and that's all they care about.
 
I think primarily that this is about being politically cute. As some have said above, there are sections of the media and politicians just longing to revive the 'fans = thugs' hobbyhorse, largely for their own ends. If we, as fans, let them, then we do make Stratfield Brake harder, and steer families away from football towards rugby union, NfL or the local shopping 'experience'. Football is a social construct, and we have to be aware of this. There has been recent progress, especially with the rejection of the European Superleague and the appointment of a regulator, but we just cannot afford to be cast as the villains.
 
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