Have you ever encountered incidents when football fans got out of control due to not being pleased? Football is a game of passion. And perhaps, the most impassioned element of the game is the fans. It has been said several times by players and managers and stakeholders of the sport that the fans are the reason the game is played. So, the fans have passion, and to some extent, power.
However, this combination of passion and power has led to some of the ugliest moments we have ever witnessed in what is meant to be a beautiful game.
Incidents when football fans got out of control
Today, we are going to show you 5 incidents when football fans got out of control.
1. England fans after Euro 2020 final
We’ll be starting with the most recent craziness we have seen from football fans. On the night of the 11th of July, 2021, the day the Euro 2020 final was played in the Wembley Stadium, London, fans of the England national team went berserk.
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Every football fan knows how very passionate fans of the Three Lions are. And considering this was the first time the national team had been in the final of a major tournament in 55 years, everyone invested in the Euro 2020 was expecting something wild to happen that night, regardless of the eventual result.
See: Why Do Barcelona Have The England Flag In Their Crest?
By the way, they already showed signs of this in the semi-final of the same tournament against Denmark. When Harry Kane stepped up to take a penalty in extra time, a laser was pointed at the Danish goalkeeper’s face, presumably to distract him and give the English captain an advantage.
Although Schmeichel saved the penalty, UEFA deemed that act unsporting and unethical and fined England because of it.
So, almost everyone expected a big reaction from the English fans if they lost the final to Italy, but still, almost everyone was shocked by what happened that Sunday evening.
These troublesome fans did not even wait till the game was over. Before kickoff, there were already reports of riots outside the Wembley Stadium mainly involving fans without tickets who were trying to illegally get into the stadium. Fans were seen throwing punches at guards and even treading on the cordon.
England went on to lose the final on penalties, and as expected, everything went wild. The Met reported that 49 arrests were made that day alone and that 19 of their officers were injured amidst the entire ruckus.
Perhaps the scarier reports came in the form of tweets from fans in and around the stadium while it was all unfolding that Sunday evening. From the look of things, a lot of people were beaten, many got badly injured, and some were scared for their lives. But thanks to the timely intervention of the authorities, no deaths were recorded.
2. 2016 Scottish Cup Final Brawl
Just down the road from England, but years earlier, in 2016, a huge brawl broke out right on the Hampden Park pitch. This happened after underdogs, Hibernian, defeated Rangers to win the Scottish Cup for the first time in over a century.
After the final whistle, fans of the winning team ran into the pitch to celebrate their first Scottish Cup in 114 years. The problem began when some of the fans went to taunt the Rangers’ fans. This angered the losing side, and they ran into the pitch and several fights broke out right there.
These fights between fans continued for minutes before they could be brought under control by the police. Because of this, the presentation of medals and the trophy had to be delayed for about an hour.
Later, the police started an investigation to find and prosecute the guilty parties. This investigation went on for months.
3. Pitch-Invader in KNVB Cup, 2011
If you watch football, surely you are already used to seeing fans run onto the pitch. Most times, it’s just to take a picture with their favorite player or maybe even just get a hug from them. This time, it was something more bizarre and violent.
In the first half of the KNVB Cup game between AZ and Ajax, a fan ran onto the pitch of the Amsterdam Arena, went straight for Esteban Alvarado, the AZ goalkeeper, and karate-kicked him from behind.
Esteban was not having any of that, so he retaliated by kicking him repeatedly until security came and arrested the violent fan.
Anyway, the referee showed the AZ goalkeeper red for retaliating, which pissed off the rest of the AZ players. So, they walked off the pitch, and the game was abandoned thereafter.
The red card was later rescinded by KNVB and the match was replayed the next month. Ajax was fined 10,000 euros because this fan was not even supposed to be in the stadium in the first place. He had earlier been banned from the stadium for 3 years and had not finished serving that ban when this occurred.
The club accepted the fine and then banned the fan from the club for a lifetime, along with an extra 30-year ban from the stadium.
4. Fan punches Lampard in FA Cup game
Lampard was one of the biggest stars in his playing days, so when he saw a fan running towards him after illegally gaining access into the pitch in a Spurs vs Chelsea FA Cup game, he probably thought it was for a hug or a picture.
However, Tim Smith, the Tottenham Hotspur fan, was not interested in any of that. He went straight for Frank, and when he got close, immediately threw a punch at him.
Rui Faria, Chelsea’s then fitness coach, swiftly intervened and wrestled the fan to the ground to get him under control.
5. Fan attack in a Euro 2008 qualifier game
This one started on the pitch between players. Denmark had come back from a 3-goal lead against Sweden, so it was heated. In the 89th minute of the game, Poulsen of Denmark and Rosenberg of Sweden were involved in a little scuffle in the Danish 18-yard box.
Rosenberg hit Poulsen, and Poulsen retaliated by punching the Swedish player in the tummy, which caused the ref to blow a penalty for Sweden and send off the Danish midfielder.
Bear in mind that this game was being played in Copenhagen, the capital city of Denmark. So, only seconds after the sending off of Poulsen, a Danish fan invaded the pitch and went straight for the German referee, Herbert Fandel.
The fan attacked Herbert and even grabbed the ref’s neck until Michael Gravgaard, a Danish defender, came and intervened. Immediately that was broken off, Herbert and his assistant referees walked off the pitch. The match was later abandoned and a 3-nil victory was awarded to Sweden.
Apparently, that was not even the end of it. After the refs left, both teams followed suit and left the field, too. After they left, 2 other Danish fans ran onto the pitch, one of whom took the ball, ran across the field, and scored in the Swedish open net.
After much investigation into the incident by UEFA, the European football governing body fined Denmark 30,222 euros and ordered that the Parken Stadium, where all this happened, be shut down for 4 competitive Danish senior team official games.
The perpetrator, who was later identified as Ronni Norvig, was sued by the Danish FA for 215,000 euros. They won the case in November of 2009, but were to be paid 120,000 euros instead. The attacker and the FA later reached a separate agreement, and the fine was reduced to 35,000 euros.
Ronin also had to serve a sentence of 20 days in prison as ruled by the criminal court.
So, there you have it. The beautiful game with some of its ugliest moments caused by over-passionate fans who got out of control.
