How much will Birmingham City be fined?

That was part of my reaction to that bad own-goal. What if Enckmann had taken a swing at that guy? It could have easily turned very, very ugly.

 

That was impressive self-control on his part, ESPECIALLY given what had just happened. That had to have been the worst moment of his career, yet he probably kept it from becoming truly horrible.

Edit: turns out the Blues think they should be let off the hook, according to the Guardian story:

http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,1563,793717,00.html

 

Birmingham City should be fined, but the stewards should also have a chunk of their paycheck taken away. After all, they're the ones who let those morons onto the pitch. Not only were they on the pitch after the own goal, but for all 3 goals, fans spilled onto the field. It's a shame that it had to come to that. The invasion was more of a celebration then an act of hooliganism. Unfortunately, some fans took it too far.

 

Boohoo! fans on the pitch. So what?

 

I guess you don't know a lot about stewarding in England. If the Stewards would have tried forcefully to get everything back in order, then there would have been the prospect of violence, it was easy to see that thoughts of Violence were far from the Brummie minds.


I think this was just good fun, Its not like it was a full fledged pitch invasion anyway. I don't think anyone came on more than a few yards. Everyone went back to the stands right after a few seconds as well. If Brum get a fine its going to be a small one, and only so they can look back in the records and say that they fined Birmingham City for their supporters coming onto the pitch.

No harm, No foul.

 

but the guy patting Enkleman on the face, now that was just ridiculous. I dont know how he had that kind of self-control to not want to physically hurt the guy after giving up a goal like that. That fan was classless.

 

Personally, I thought that was hilarious. Enkelman didn't seemed threatened by him at all. Maybe the little slap (as light as it was) was a bit over the top. Still, can you honestly say that you didn't laugh?

 

Not really. Lack of a fine or a token fine will only encourage others to stage their own pitch invasions at a later date. And sooner or later there will be a very ugly incident. Only Enkleman's self-control stopped this one potentially turning very ugly. Birmingham will ban that fan for life, but the FA will be short sighted if they hand down a token punishment. Entering the field of play is a criminal offence and clubs are responsible for the behaviour of their fans within the stadium.

 

You guys need to relax, it wasn't "appalling". If anything it was funny and exciting. As Splarg said, these were jubilant fans not hooligans attacking opposing players.

Sure if Enkleman had hit the guy it could have turned ugly. But as a professional it would have been his fault in my opinion. I wonder if he'll ever be the same...

 

You think this was staged? This is football.

 

I don't think he's saying this one was staged, but I can imagine (and I'm sure you can, too) some other morons "thinking", hey, when our guys score, let's run onto the pitch and make wanking gestures at the opposing team.

So while this one was spontaneous, the next one probably won't be. And I can see why the FA would want to insure that there won't be a next one, anyway.

 

I think Enkelman deserved to give the man a slap back, but he was smart enough to know that if he were to do anything then there might be problems. I fully expect that supporter, who luckily was caught on camera to be banned for at least 5 years.

I've been involved in pitch invasions before, like when Djurgarden won promotion to the top flight in sweden, and i've been to bad ones, like When Leeds went to cardiff. There was even a small pitch invasion in Columbus when they scored the winner against Kansas City in golden goal.

In my mind i can easily spot the difference between the ones that are done for the right reasons and the ones done for the wrong reasons. Steve Bruce didn't seem too worried while he was celebrating with fans that came on near the bench.

Its funny how you guys are getting me to back what birmingham city supporters did when i in fact despise them.

 

I think playing your biggest rivals for the first time in 16 years and then beating them is reason enough for a minor pitch invasion such as this one. You see these all the time in the lower divisions, but mostly with the away supporters.

 

From SkySports.com:

The chairman also denied that any of the incidents had been serious, refusing even to class them as pitch invasions.
"We have to be careful we don't overreact," he told Sky Sports News
"I am really sorry that we are focussing on that one stupid young man who came onto the pitch and disgraced himself and disgraced Birmingham and spoilt itfor 30,000 perfectly-behaved fans.
"We will track him down and he will be banned for life. A few dozen fans came on the pitch at a moment of great excitement - Birmingham and Villa haven't played each other in a serious competition for 16 years.
"It was a handful of fans in pure jubilation. This was not an invasion where fans were fighting each other or were attacking players."
Gold added that he believed security at St Andrews was the best it could have been and he did not wish to see a return to perimeter fencing.
"In all the great matches you are, from time to time, going to get some fans on the pitch - that is part of football.
"If you had more security than you had fans, you would still get people coming on the pitch. I believe our security is the very best. To expect more you are going to return to caging the fans back in and that is inappropriate.
"It was not an invasion but that does not mean we are not treating it seriously and we will ensure it is kept to a minimum. But we should not dwell too long on that issue."

 

That is egregious behavior that should not be tolerated at any level. Pitch invasions and the assault of a player by a fan. Sure, you say it is just a light slap. But, it is still a criminal act.

Their laughable efforts to find the man are even more a mark of their guilt.

They should be fined and not allowed to play any more home games until they construct perimeter fencing around the entire stands. No visiting team should be forced to play in a situation like that where they are attacked.

That fan should be imprisoned as well as banned for life.

 

Perhaps team management should be compelled to wear sackcloth and ashes and seek eternal forgiveness from the FA as well.

The potential for real danger, it would seem, is when BCFC visit Villa Park.

 

You are joking, right?

 

Perimeter fencing!!?!?!

Jesus ... a little history.

The pitch invasion was stupid exuberance. The fan who approached Enkelman WILL be banned for life. Not that that actually means anything. A guy who sites two rows ahead of me at Anfield when I go on my mate's Season Ticket is banned for life from every ground in Europe.

 

Matt, I believe Topo was being sarcastic, judging by the rest of his post.

20 Hail Marys and 50 Our Fathers as punishment should suffice. Oh, I'm sorry - this happened in England, not Ireland....

While we're at it, let's grant Enckelman sainthood.

 

And the only way to tackle the problem of the 'wrong' sort of invasion, is to stamp down on *all* of them, otherwise you get into ridiculous semantic defences like the one B'ham are thowing up. Encroaching on the field of play - for whatever reason - simply shouldn't be tolerated; any other policy is an almost certain recipe for future serious incidents. This is precisely why it's a criminal offence.

 

I find it odd that those who are posting vehement opposition to pitch encroachment/invasion are mostly from the states -- not from England -- and those who are more laid back about this particular incident are from England (or are Yanks living in England). I think this speaks volumes about the fact that people from England generally know more about English football -- including football culture -- than do Americans living Stateside. Damn, I hate having to state the obvious.

But really, my fellow Americans posting here would do well to settle down and mull over the differences in American and English temperaments before stating so boldly that encroachment/invasion should be dealt with in the harshest manner possible. One should never apply one's own morés or societal standards to a different culture, no matter how similar the culture. The English will deal with the matter in the way they best see fit, for better or for worse.

 

I don't really see any problem with these "pitch invasions", as long as there aren't 30,000 people spilling onto the field and as long as a player's not being assaulted. Colleges actually ALLOW this to happen after football and basketball games...it's simply celebration.

However, I do fully condemn what that idiot did to the keeper. That was uncalled for.