Authorities searching for solutions after pitch invasions cause disquiet

The end of the season is the most emotional time in the footballing year. It’s when teams lift trophies and escape the drop and when fans give a salute to their heroes, with the Premier League promising to come to a spectacular conclusion in the last round of fixtures on Sunday. But in 2022 the season’s climax has seen emotion turn to disorder, once more causing disquiet at all levels of the game.

Pitch invasions by supporters have caused trouble at Nottingham Forest, Northampton, Everton and Port Vale this week, as playoff fixtures and relegation matches ended with players being targeted by fans. On Thursday Robert Biggs, a 30-year-old Forest season-ticket holder, was jailed for 24 weeks for running on to the pitch and head-butting Sheffield United’s Billy Sharp.

That same night there was a pitch invasion at Goodison Park after Everton’s dramatic 3-2 win over Crystal Palace that staved off the threat of relegation from the Premier League. The Palace manager, Patrick Vieira, was involved in a confrontation with an Everton fan where Vieira appeared to aim a kick at a man taunting him. The Football Association and Merseyside police said separately they were looking into the incident.

Meanwhile the government threatened five-year bans on fans convicted of selling or taking class A drugs, as Boris Johnson said “middle-class cokeheads” were driving crime across the country.

The Manchester University academic Geoff Pearson, a leading voice on fan culture and crowd safety, has argued that a “carnival” culture among some fans has been exacerbated by the absences from stadiums caused by the pandemic. But he also says behaviours have been unlearned during that time and punishments of the like imposed on Biggs are necessary to turn