Due to their pitch invasion during the conclusion of their Championship play-off semifinal matchup with Sheffield United nearly a year ago, Nottingham Forest has been fined.
While Sheffield United’s Oli McBurnie was cleared last December of stamping on another Forest fan who invaded the pitch, a Forest supporter was sentenced for headbutting Blades striker Billy Sharp during the incident at the end of the second leg at the City Ground on May 17 of last year.
Forest was accused by the Football Association of neglecting to make sure that their fans behaved in a disciplined manner and did not use any aggressive or menacing tactics when swarming onto the pitch after the final whistle.
An impartial regulatory commission fined Forest £50,000 after the company only partially acknowledged the complaint. As long as there are no more infractions of FA regulation E20, the FA stated that the panel has suspended half of the fine until the conclusion of the following season.
The news of Forest’s sanctioning is made on the same day as Luton and Sunderland square off at Kenilworth Road in the first of this year’s Championship play-off semi-final second legs.
To protect its members from pitch intruders, the Professional Footballers’ Association has consulted a lawyer regarding acceptable force.
The PFA is worried that it could be unjust to require a player involved in a pitch invasion to decide what constitutes “reasonable force” in such situations, as counsel has shown that this will vary on a case-by-case basis.
Even though the football authorities are putting more effort into apprehending and prohibiting pitch invaders this term, according to a letter the PFA sent to its members earlier this season that was obtained by the PA news agency, “too many of these incidents are still happening, with players left to look after themselves and stewards and security often too slow to respond.”
The letter informed players that clubs had received extensive instructions from the police and the leagues on how to prepare for games where there may be a heightened risk of pitch invasions.
The letter also reminded players that they may request information from their club regarding security arrangements prior to a game and encouraged them to file a complaint with the PFA if they thought their concerns were not being appropriately addressed.
Earlier this year, Chief Constable Mark Roberts, the UK football policing lead for the National Police Chiefs’ Council, warned PA that players could not be given “carte blanche” to fight pitch intruders.
“Insofar as we need to protect players from (pitch invasions)—which can be resolved by asking people to stay off the pitch altogether—if there are grievances that players have misbehaved, then they are accountable to the law in the same way as everyone else,” he stated in January.
Everyone would agree that players should never be forced to deal with fans on the pitch, but it also can’t happen that someone runs on the pitch and players have free reign to attack them. I’m not talking about this specific instance here; rather, I’m stating a general point.
It’s really easy to understand: “Players and fans shouldn’t be in the stands or on the pitch. That gets a little trickier to unravel when that becomes hazy.
Proactively addressing pitch invasions, the EFL provided its clubs with guidelines in April that covered security protocols and fan relations leading up to postseason and season-ending games.
Before their semi-final second leg against Sunderland, Luton released a lengthy statement on club channels on Monday. In it, they warned of the potential penalties for entering the field as well as the potential effects that any misbehaviour may have on the team.
In addition to the numerous smoke devices, missiles hurled, and pitch intrusions that occurred during the Watford game, the statement also mentioned a single smoke device and a missile that was launched during the away game against Reading, which put the club under investigation by the Football Association.
Therefore, even though the activities are thought to be celebratory in character, any repeat infraction could result in severe sanctions that punish the club.
“A sizable fine can mean the difference between our team, which has one of the lowest playing budgets in the Championship, and not acquiring a player this summer or not.
“We implore you to preserve the pitch for the players and the stands for fans, and to stay out of the way of what could turn out to be the most memorable moment in Luton Town Football Club history.”
