The first incident of field invasion fan violence at a major sporting event? Of course you?ve guessed cricket, and you?re right. In the Sydney Riot of 1879, an estimated 2,000 smartly-dressed Australian fans rushed the pitch after becoming enraged at an umpire?s decision during a match between England and New South Wales.
Terrible carnage ensued: with things getting so out of hand that two fans were ?banned from the grounds for life, their club fees returned to them.? The head of the Melbourne Cricket Club, summoning his harshest invective, compared the mob to ?strolling actors.? And there was this, from a later account in the Sydney Morning Herald: A young Banjo Paterson, who later went on to write the iconic Australian song Waltzing Matilda, was among the pitch invaders.
How uncouth (gently douses teabag).
But oh, for those simpler times. Here we are 130 years later, and conditions out on the playing field are like an episode of The Walking Dead. It seems no one is safe from marauding fans.
What demons (besides *hic!* the obvious) possess men to rush the playing field and attack athletes? I can barely work up the enthusiasm to attend a game in person, let alone leap barriers, dodge security and scamper around on the playing surface; only to end up tasered, hogtied and festooned with German Shepard tooth marks. Sounds like fun, but I?ll pass. Yet fans used to do this all the time, just to shake the hand of their idol, or to try and get on The George Michael Sports Machine.
But lately athlete-fan field interaction has taken a darker turn. The latest was an incident on Wednesday night in which a Dutch soccer fan rushed the pitch and attacked goalkeeper Esteban Alvarado. The goalie, a Costa Rican native who plays for AZ Alkmaar, met the idiot with a flying kick, and then stomped on him a few times for good measure before security arrived. Our hero?s parting gift? A red card. Yep, Alvarado was ejected for kicking a fan who probably meant to murder him. This was not a popular decision.
But according to the FIFA rulebook, the ref made the right call. Any attempt by a player to pummel someone ? even if it?s a lunatic who has run onto the field of play to do you harm ? is cause for ejection.
Law 12, page 119.
Violent conduct
A player is guilty of violent conduct if he uses excessive force or brutality against an opponent when not challenging for the ball. He is also guilty of violent conduct if he uses excessive force or brutality against a team-mate, spectator, match official or any other person.
Violent conduct may occur either on the field of play or outside its boundaries, whether the ball is in play or not.
Referees are reminded that violent conduct often leads to mass confrontation, therefore they must try to avert this with active intervention. A player, substitute or substituted player who is guilty of violent conduct must be sent off.
Here?s our go-to soccer expert, Jakob from the soccer blog Unprofessional Foul:
?It?s technically correct for them to send off the goalkeeper, but I think the spirit of the law is to punish players who instigate the violent conduct with a spectator, ala Kung Fu Eric Cantona. It seems wholly inappropriate to punish a player for defending himself from an unknown assailant, especially given the Monica Seles event in the 1990s. So, dumbest effing rule in the book.?
For reference, here?s what Cantona did.
I get it: FIFA is concerned about all hell breaking loose if a player continues to whale on a fan after the initial attack. More fans running onto the field, mass hysteria. Of course everyone would fall violently to the turf and writhe in agony at the slightest touch, so it wouldn?t be much of a riot. But it would look bad on YouTube.
But if players were allowed to beat the absolute cotton batting out of any field invader who sought to do them bodily harm, it would discourage such things. That?s why you rarely see such shenanigans at U.S. football games. Exhibit 1: The Steelers? James Harrison vs. portly Browns fan:
Exhibit 2: Idiot Chiefs fan taken down by mascot KC Wolf (embarrassing):
Exhibit 3: Harvard cheerleaders tackle flag thief. That?s the male Harvard cheerleaders, so there?s absolutely no upside to this. Complete and utter Fail.
But as we learned in our opening paragraph, fans rushing the field to rumble with athletes and officials is nothing new. Take poor Australian soccer referee Henry ?Ivor? Crapp, for instance. In separate incidents in 1902 and 1904, he was ?jostled and kicked? by a fan during one match, and ?punched in the face? by another. I?m assuming that?s where we got the term ?Beating the Crapp? out of someone. Some other notable incidents:
- June 4, 1913: Emily Davison, a women?s suffrage activist, ran onto the track during the Epsom Derby and was trampled to death by a horse.
- Aug. 8, 1936: With five minutes remaining in extra time in an Olympic soccer match between Peru and Austria, a group of Peruvian fans, one brandishing a revolver, invaded the pitch and assaulted Austrian players, officials and stadium security. During the ensuing chaos, Peru scored two goals and won the match 4?2. (Result later voided).
- Sept. 10, 1961: In the first half of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium, Cleveland Indians outfielder Jimmy Piersall was attacked by two Yankees fans who ran onto the field. Piersall quickly dispatched the first fan with a single punch then chased after the other, who was intercepted and pummeled by Indian teammates Johnny Temple and Walt Bond.
- Aug. 26, 1986: A fan threw a Bowie hunting knife at California Angels rookie Wally Joyner at Yankee Stadium. Joyner was hit on his left arm by the butt end of the knife, escaping injury.
And, sometimes various fans rush the field at the same time, and take out each other.
- Sept. 10, 2002: Just before kickoff in a Worthington Cup match between Luton Town and Watford in England, Luton fans invaded the pitch. But Watford fans had done the same, and a brawl broke out when the two sets of supporters met. One fan was knocked unconscious and carted out on a stretcher before riot police restored order. Two fans were arrested and another 50 were ejected.
Is it time for moats at major stadiums? It may be the age of Playstation and social technology that has made fans believe that they are, indeed, part of the game. But here?s a quick note to those people: You are not part of the game. You barely got over the railing, and you were chased down in seconds by a 320-pound security guard named Claude. Also no one on TV saw your face as you?d hoped, but we did see your underwear. Was it worth it?
In the name of Henry ?Ivor? Crapp, let?s stop the madness.
***
Rick?s Cafe Americain appears on Thursdays, and will be back on Jan. 5. Contact: Rickchand@gmail.com.
verizon galaxy nexus lawrence lessig lawrence lessig time magazine person of the year 2011 time magazine person of the year 2011 good morning america new orleans jazz fest
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.