Very Specific Football Question No.31: Should happy fans be allowed to invade the pitch?

“Some people are on the pitch. They think it’s all over… It is now, because the stewards have wrestled them to the ground and they’ll be getting lifetime bans for that sort of uncouth behaviour.”

The curbing of the jubilant pitch invasion is one of the saddest consequences of the sanitisation of football.

Not to be confused with the ugly pitch invasion (whereby fans – typically clad in the fashions of the 1970s or 80s – would take to the field in the name of violence), the jubilant pitch invasion is a far more pleasant phenomenon that has created some of the British game’s most iconic moments.

The muddy hordes that saluted Ronnie Radford’s FA Cup heroics in Hereford, the Tartan Army taking over Wembley in ‘77, the scenes of joyous mayhem that have greeted various promotions, great escapes, cup victories and end-of-season parties at grounds across the country in decades gone by. These are moments that encapsulate fans’ passion for the sport (or, in the case of Wembley ’77, their disregard for woodwork) better than anything.

We were reminded of just how entertaining pitch invaders can be when Newcastle fan John West somehow escaped the attentions of the St James’s Park security staff to join Magpies striker Aleksandar Mitrovic in celebrating the Serbian’s late equaliser against Sunderland in Sunday’s Tyne-Wear derby.

West’s plan was to give the Newcastle goalscorer a congratulatory hug. But just as all pitch invaders do, he slipped over.

It wasn’t a problem. This merely made the spectacle more enjoyable (see photo above). Plus, Mitrovic didn’t care. The £15m footballer happily gave the clumsy Geordie his cuddle – two men from different worlds united by unbridled happiness. Is there anything more beautiful?

Apparently, yes, because the 35-year-old Toon Army aficionado was subsequently arrested, charged and now faces a ban from all football grounds.

This was an unsurprising outcome, given that pitch invasions have been illegal in the UK since the introduction of the 1991 Football Offences Act.

But even a Sunderland fan can see that John West should not be banned from attending football matches. On the contrary he should be encouraged to attend more of them, and invade the pitch as often as he wants.

Although the reasons behind the criminalisation of “encroaching onto a football pitch” are sound, designed as they are to prevent opposition fans from clashing and to protect players from potential assailants, in practice the law is overzealous.

The fact is that fans are far more likely to invade the pitch to express their joy, rather than to fight each other. As for the players, they are at greater risk of being kissed than they are of being attacked.

It’s unfortunate that football stadiums contain more than their fair share of idiots, such as the Leeds “fan” who ran onto the pitch to punch Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Chris Kirkland in the face a few years ago, and it’s this minority that ruin it for everyone else.

Because as many fans over the age of 40 will tell you, there are few things more thrilling as a supporter than to enjoy a moment of glory on the hallowed turf of its conception. To be at one with the players, and each other, at the centre of it all.

Alas, that is a privilege that has been denied to a generation of fans, just like standing on a terrace, keeping your best players and buying a ticket for less than the price of a short-haul flight.

But John West has experienced it - he broke the mould. He alone created a new iconic football moment, fuelled by nothing but love (and possibly some alcohol).

Now this Geordie hero will pay for it with his freedom, or at the very least a large fine. Insult added to injury against a man who has already had to pay to watch Newcastle this season.

Good things don’t happen to football fans very often. Should we punish those who get a bit over-excited when they do?

Follow @darlingkevin on Twitter

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