Assault on Sheffield United’s Billy Sharp will hopefully be watershed moment – Stuart Rayner

My column a fortnight ago highlighting the misbehaviour of a small but significant minority of Rotherham United fans met with mixed reviews.

Most but not all agreed with the sentiment but some felt I was banging on about it too much.

“It’s a very small number causing trouble,” said one reader. “You seem to be giving them more coverage than needed.”

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Another added: “Feels like a personal/club agenda.... You’ve made your point but you keep going and going.”

WATERSHED: Tuesday night’s pitch invasion at the City Ground resulted in Sheffield United’s Billy Sharp being headbutted by a spectator. Picture: Michael Regan/Getty ImagesWATERSHED: Tuesday night’s pitch invasion at the City Ground resulted in Sheffield United’s Billy Sharp being headbutted by a spectator. Picture: Michael Regan/Getty Images
WATERSHED: Tuesday night’s pitch invasion at the City Ground resulted in Sheffield United’s Billy Sharp being headbutted by a spectator. Picture: Michael Regan/Getty Images

I did not become a football writer to report on pitch invasions and punch-ups. I would much rather spend all my time writing about football and in that case celebrating Rotherham’s magnificent season.

Yet here I am two weeks later banging on about it again because it keeps happening.

My agenda is not against Rotherham, it is against dangerous idiots. All clubs have them, the Millers just had a cluster of incidents.

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Capacity for York City’s promotion final at home to Boston United has been restricted because of trouble in the play-off eliminator – seats damaged, in-game pitch invasions, and rival fans throwing flares at each other.

Nottingham Forest fans celebrate their play-off semi-final win against Sheffield United at the City Ground on Tuesday night - but one fan went too far by attacking Billy Sharp. Picture: Bruce RollinsonNottingham Forest fans celebrate their play-off semi-final win against Sheffield United at the City Ground on Tuesday night - but one fan went too far by attacking Billy Sharp. Picture: Bruce Rollinson
Nottingham Forest fans celebrate their play-off semi-final win against Sheffield United at the City Ground on Tuesday night - but one fan went too far by attacking Billy Sharp. Picture: Bruce Rollinson

Supporters flooded onto the pitch when Huddersfield Town reached the Championship play-off final on Monday. It was mostly good-natured because most fans are good people but seeing blood pouring from an 85-year-old Luton Town fan’s head struck by a coin was sickening.

As was the invasion on Sky, you knew there would be another if Nottingham Forest saw off Sheffield United the following night, despite chairman Nicholas Randall’s pre-match pleas on Forest’s website. When there was, it went a step further.

The image of a 31-year-old with too much adrenaline and goodness knows what else in his veins sprinting up behind Billy Sharp and launching into a headbutt was horrendous.

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“We watch every TV game and there are always things thrown on the pitch, fan invasions and the commentators, especially the ex-players, are always talking about the safety of the players but nothing’s ever been done,” complained Sharp’s manager Paul Heckingbottom.

Sheffield United's Billy Sharp - pictured before the Championship play-off semi-final, second leg match against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Tuesday night. Picture: Mike Egerton/PASheffield United's Billy Sharp - pictured before the Championship play-off semi-final, second leg match against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Tuesday night. Picture: Mike Egerton/PA
Sheffield United's Billy Sharp - pictured before the Championship play-off semi-final, second leg match against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Tuesday night. Picture: Mike Egerton/PA

That is why we must keep on condemning it. We can only hope Tuesday was a watershed.

“End of season (pitch invasions) are a tradition I hope never ends,” was another response. “They don’t naturally lead to trouble either.”

A victorious player on fans’ shoulders is joyous in an era where they are so distanced. As I wrote two weeks ago, I have run onto pitches at the end of seasons.

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But too many are leading to trouble. Just as millions of people who are not terrorists have to be inconvenienced by endless airport checks, so unfortunately, fans have to be denied that pleasure because of the risks.

“People were locked away for a year nearly enough but God forbid they run on a pitch and throw pyros,” said one tweet.

If this is what happens, then yes. Football pitch invasions have been illegal since 1991.

I think I was part of perhaps the last mass pitch invasion at an English cricket Test when England beat Australia at Edgbaston in 1997. They were a tradition then but with big fines and repeated warnings, incursions are now limited to the odd drunk attention-seeker. Boundaries are much bigger areas to patrol but where there is a will and half-decent stewarding, there is a way.

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As for throwing “pyros” – flares and smokebombs – the blind eyes being turned are a huge concern. You worry it will take an actual blind eye for meaningful action.

I cover a lot of matches for The Yorkshire Post from non-league to internationals – over 100 this season – and cannot remember the last one without pryos.

If the stewarding is so lax canisters can be smuggled in that easily, how hard would it have been for the scumbag who ran at Sharp to have a small knife?

When Everton’s Richarlison threw a flare back into the crowd recently, the FA launched an investigation. To find out what? He was live on TV throwing a lit pyrotechnic into a stand.

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It was almost certainly not malicious – they were his own fans – just thoughtless, but like an unintentional leg-breaking tackle, needed to be punished because it was so dangerous.

Sharp’s attacker was arrested but glossing over incidents gives licence to the moronic few.

I really would like to never write about this again, but we have to keep on about it until people stop treating theses incidents so lightly for the safety of players and the sake of those tarred with the same brush. Sorry.

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