Players and managers need real protection from ‘collective cancer’ following spate of pitch invasions

For the past five years, I have spent most Saturday’s watching a wall of screens showing EFL matches, and this season has been, by far, the worst for fan incursions.

Whether it’s supporters entering the field of play to join in goal celebrations, or worse, it has become commonplace.

That is what makes Tuesday’s sickening attack on Sheffield United’s Billy Sharp even harder to stomach, because you could see it coming a mile off.

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Back in February, Accrington’s Harry Pell was waiting to take a penalty, only for a fan to run onto the pitch, boot the ball off the spot, then barge into him.

On Monday night, Luton’s James Bree, crouched down after his team’s defeat to Huddersfield, was slapped on the back of the head. The assistant referee read the tea leaves, sprinting like Usain Bolt across the field and down the tunnel before the final whistle blew. He knew. We all knew.

There are so many incidents I could cite and official figures I could quote that show clearly what happened to Sharp could have been avoided had those in charge pro-acted rather than reacted.

The white line should be seen as a sacred, invisible barrier, but it is now ignored on a weekly basis. While the fences are, thank goodness, a thing of the past, we must assume that they are still, metaphorically, there.

While noises are being made by governing bodies, with pledges to crack down on those who cross said line, they need to follow through with simple, clear penalties that will go a long way to nipping this in the bud. Strong deterrents are the only solution, and if they are not put in place now, without doubt, worse is yet to come.

Isolated incidents