, Blackpool – Tangerine’s fans storm field – stop game [updated 03 May]

Blackpool – Tangerine’s fans storm field – stop game [updated 03 May]

WheelchairBlackpool fans, rightly angered at the way they feel that the club is being run stormed the pitch at Bloomfield Road and brought a halt to the game against Huddersfield early in the second half, this led to both sets of players scampering off the pitch. Police tried to remove the protesting fans but further delays were had when protesting supporters staged a centre circle sit-down protest.

The referee wanted to restart the game but the fans were refusing to move from the pitch. The Blackpool fans had termed today ‘Judgement Day’ after the words of Karl Oyston who told naysayers and doom merchants amongst Blackpool supporters that judgement should be reserved for the season’s end. The protest was organised by supporter’s group ‘The Tangerine Knights and Blackpool Supporters’ Trust’ who aimed the protest directly at Chairman Karl Oyston. A spokesman, quoted in Metro online, said, “Karl Oyston said ‘judge me at the end of the season.’ Now it’s judgement day and it is time to let the Oystons and the nation know that we have reached a unanimous verdict – guilty.”

As the delay wore on, scenes began to get more farcical as first the appearance of a lone protester on a mobility scooter (above) and then supporters breaking out into conga lines as the protest continued. The game was finally abandoned after an hour’s stoppage on safety grounds with the protest still on-going.

Whilst laudable as a protest and one that I fully support, the Football League will surely crack down on the club for this action which was abandoned at the game’s 48 minute point as the crowd refused to move.

Manager Lee Clarke said, on Blackpool’s official website, that the right decision was made saying that, “everybody’s safety and that’s players included. If they couldn’t give us that guarantee then the right decision has been made.”

Reaction on Twitter

https://twitter.com/sjbaldwin24/status/594487642089218050

The Aftermath

With this issue likely to be hot news over the coming days, the Football League has issued the following statement on its website (posted 02 May)

“Following the abandonment of today’s match at Bloomfield Road, it will be for the Football Association to consider any matters relating to crowd behaviour with The Football League ruling on whether or not the match should be replayed.”

Whilst sympathising with the Blackpool fans, who rightly so were driven to these ends, the pitch invasion and protest opens up other questions for the whole of football to consider. Firstly, I am sure both the club and the fans will realise that there will, and should, be repercussions and fallout from yesterday’s events. The thing is, what will the ‘repercussions and fallout’ be, what shape will they take?
Obviously fines are an option and likely an avenue that will be explored by the football authorities. Another avenue that might be ploughed  by the authorities is an enforced replay, likely to be behind closed door should this be the case. Would this accomplish anything though, what with the position both teams were in; Blackpool being already relegated and Huddersfield not pushing for anything in particular? There is always the spectre of a points deduction from the start of next season, this could be a sanction that the football authority might consider, although this would be too draconian a measure in my eyes.
Perhaps the fairest way to deal with this issue is as follows: award the game to Huddersfield 3-0 (it was done by UEFA for the Russia vs Montenegro game after crown trouble flared there) and fine the club for the incident itself. I think that there shouldn’t be a replay due to the message that this would send out to fans about what they could potentially do should their team be facing a situation the fans see as not going well for their side.
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