Pitch invasion

A pitch invasion or field invasion, known as rushing the field in the United States, occurs when a crowd of people who are watching a sports game run onto the field, to celebrate or protest about an incident. Pitch invasions may involve individual people or capacity crowds, for example in games of football or cricket.

Rugby union

Pitch invasions have occurred throughout the history of rugby union, with some particular moments being the most infamous. In the past, additional security support has been constructed at stadiums due to foreseen trouble. An early example of this was at the 1924 Summer Olympics, when a wire fence was constructed to protect United States players.

Infamous pitch invasions

• During the 1971 Springbok tour, hundreds were arrested after they tried to disrupt test matches between the Springboks and Australia in response to South African apartheid policies. Some people even attempted to saw down goal posts and dig trenches in the surface at the Sydney Cricket Ground to try to stop a test match going ahead, and in Queensland, a state of emergency was issued following fears prompted from the behavior of people at the previous tests. Due to the success of the protests in disrupting the event, the Australian Cricket Board canceled the South African team's imminent tour due to security reasons.

• Perhaps the most infamous of pitch invasions at rugby matches occurred at the 1981 Springbok tour of New Zealand. At Rugby Park in Hamilton, 350 people pulled down a fence to invade the pitch, and police were forced to cancel the match after arresting a number of people after they got word that an escaped prisoner was piloting a light plane to fly around the stadium. The last test at Eden Park was disrupted after protesters threw flour bombs and other objects onto the pitch to disrupt the game.

• During a 2002 rugby Tri-Nations match in Durban between South Africa and New Zealand, a drunk South African fan, Pieter van Zyl, scaled a perimeter fence, ran onto the pitch and tackled the referee, David McHugh of Ireland, leaving McHugh with a dislocated shoulder and having to be carried from the pitch on a stretcher. All Blacks flanker Richie McCaw promptly punched van Zyl in the face and wrestled him to the ground until police and security arrested him. van Zyl was convicted of trespassing and assault, and was sentenced to three months in jail, fined $275, and banned for life from attending rugby matches in South Africa.

• Another incident involving the South African team took place at the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia when an intoxicated Samoan fan, with his face painted in the red and blue of the Samoan flag, ran onto the pitch and attempted to tackle Springbok Louis Koen as he was kicking a goal in the late stages of a pool match against Samoa. Koen kicked the goal, but also managed to inadvertently knock the fan unconscious with a kick to the head, as the fan had tried to tackle Koen around the legs.

Australian rules football

After game Kick-to-kick tradition at the Melbourne Cricket Ground is a rare sight. Follows an AFL match between the Melbourne Demons and Port Adelaide Power, 16000 fans are let onto the turf.

Pitch invasions, rarely hostile or violent, have long been a tradition of Australian rules football. At the end of an Australian rules match, it is traditional for supporters to run onto the field to celebrate the game and play games of kick-to-kick with their families. Supporters were once also able to do this during the half-time break. In recent years, this was subject to stricter controls, and then finally banned altogether, in the elite Australian Football League.

It is also a tradition for the crowd to engage in a mid-match pitch invasion when a player reaches a landmark achievement, typically a 100th goal in a season, a 1000th career goal, or (in the case of Tony Lockett's 1300th career goal in 1999), breaking the all-time goal-kicking record. The AFL has not yet succeeded in preventing these mid-match invasions (which delay play significantly), but players are duly protected by bodyguards and stadium security while supporters flood onto the field.

There have been a few occasions of hostile pitch invasions; the most infamous of these occurred in the 1967 Tasmanian State Premiership Final, when hundreds of Wynyard fans invaded the field and tore down the goalposts to prevent North Hobart full forward David Collins from kicking a goal after the final siren. The Tasmanian Football League declared the match a no result and withheld the 1967 State Premiership.

Another hostile pitch invasion occurred in an AFL night game between St Kilda and Essendon in 1996, when the floodlights at Waverley Park lost power and fans rioted in the darkness and, coincidentally, also took down the goalposts.

Some unusual pitch invasions have become part of football folklore, such as the famous incident of the pig named "Plugger" being let loose on the ground in round 18, 1993. Similar incidents of animals invading the pitch have also occurred in recent years, including a feral cat which was arrested at AAMI Stadium, as well as occasional dogs. The outlawed practice of "streaking" (running naked onto the ground) occurred in some big matches, most famously the performance of Helen d'Amico in the 1982 VFL Grand Final.

International rules football

International rules football, a hybrid of Aussie Rules and Gaelic football is not known for pitch invasions, however a famous pitch invasion occurred in the first test of the 2006 International Rules Series at Pearse Stadium, Galway after Ireland defeated Australia.

The game included several impersonators and streakers, but at the end of the game, when Ireland had come from behind to win with goals in the dying seconds of the match, the crowd rushed the field, causing much controversy with the Australian players.

Cricket

See also: Sydney Riot of 1879

It used to be a common occurrence at the end of cricket Test matches for the crowd to invade the pitch to watch the presentation from the pavilion balcony. In the UK, this tradition ended in 2001 after a steward was injured in a pitch invasion at a one-day match between England and Pakistan [1].

Invading the pitch can now warrant a £1,000 fine and a lifetime ban from the ground. Post-match presentations are now held on the field.

At lunch on the final day of the first Test between England and Bangladesh at Lord's in May 2010 spectators were invited onto the outfield to "perambulate", to use the MCC's choice of phrase [2]. This was the first time a crowd at a Test match in England had been allowed onto the field since 2001.

Association Football

Pitch invasions are not uncommon but not as frequent nowadays in top level football, but historically it was common for the supporters of the winning team in a major match, such as a Cup Final, to flood onto the pitch after the final whistle. For example, in Kenneth Wolstenholme's famous "Some people are on the pitch, they think it's all over - it is now!" comment on the BBC's television coverage of the 1966 World Cup Final, 'they' were fans who had encroached onto the pitch before the end of extra time.

Pitch invasions are less common in the modern football era than in the 1970s and 1980s. Somewhat surprisingly, it was during that period that fans were barricaded in the stands by fences; after the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, this form of crowd control was abandoned, yet pitch invasions became rarer. However, they do still occur, especially in the lower divisions.

Famous pitch invasions include:

• Celtic v Rangers (1909) Scottish Cup Final. At the end of the drawn replay, the crowd invaded the pitch to protest at the lack of a result and at the prospect of having to pay to watch a third game. The SFA withheld the Cup.
• Celtic v Internazionale (1967) European Cup. As the final whistle blew, fans of Celtic flooded the pitch in jubilation as Celtic became the first British team to lift the European Cup.
• Hereford v Newcastle (1972) FA Cup. Non-league Hereford beat top-flight Newcastle 2-1 after extra time. There were pitch invasions after both Hereford goals and one at the end of the match.
• England v Scotland (1977) Home International, Wembley. Scotland won 2-1. Scotland supporters invaded the pitch and destroyed one of the goals. The scenes were broadcast live on UK TV, and this is identified as one of the key moments when football hooliganism caught the interest of politicians.
• Celtic v Rangers (10 May 1980). Celtic beat Rangers 1-0 during extra time and rioting ensued on the pitch at full-time. Mounted police had to break up the battling fans; this also led to the banning of alcohol from Scottish football grounds.
• Derby v Fulham (1983) Football League. This match was controversially never concluded after Derby fans invaded the pitch. Fulham required a win to be promoted back into the top flight of English football but despite their protests the match was never replayed and the result, a 1-0 defeat, stood.
• Everton v Wimbledon (7 May 1994). In an attempt to secure 40 consecutive years of top-flight football, Everton, who had been at the foot of the table for much of a dreadful season, needed to beat the in-form Wimbledon, who had not lost for 10 games in a row. The club's chairman had offered a trip to Las Vegas if they should make it 11. Despite one stand being closed due to construction the atmosphere was known as one of the greatest ever within Goodison Park. Although they went 2-0 down in the first 20 minutes, Everton managed a remarkable comeback to win the game 3-2 and secure survival. A mass pitch invasion ensued and many images of the emotional day were screened on the BBC's Grandstand.

• FC Schalke 04 v SpVgg Unterhaching (19 May 2001). Before the last round of matches of the Bundesliga 2000–01 season, Bayern Munich lead Schalke 04 by three points, but with an inferior goal difference. Schalke managed to defeat Unterhaching, 5–3. Shortly before this match ended, Bayern gave up a 90th-minute goal against Hamburg. Most Schalke supporters believed their team had won their first championship since 1958. The pitch had thus been stormed in celebration although the match in Hamburg was not concluded yet. In Hamburg, an indirect free kick was awarded for Bayern and Patrik Andersson eventually scored the decisive equaliser. In Schalke, the atmosphere immediately turned from joy and celebration to shock, disbelief and mourning.

• Watford v Luton Town (10 September) 2002 Worthington Cup. 10 minutes before the game kicked off, Luton fans invaded the pitch, this provoked the Watford fans to do the same, resulting was a mass brawl on the pitch between the two sets of supporters and the game was delayed for 25 minutes before Riot police regained order.

• Aston Villa v Manchester United (6 January 2002) FA Cup Manchester United were 2-0 down with 15 minutes left of play, however Manchester United scored three times in 5 minutes and their third goal caused many Manchester United fans to invade the pitch in celebration.
• QPR v Crewe (26 April 2003) Football League Division 2 - QPR needed to win this game to pip Crewe of automatic promotion from Division 2. During the game there was a nasty coin throwing incident, and a QPR fan went onto the pitch to remonstrate with the referee. The game finished 0-0, meaning Crewe were promoted, and hundreds of QPR fans invaded the pitch.
• West Brom v Portsmouth (15 May 2005) FA Premier League. West Brom defeated Portsmouth 2-0; combined with other results, this completed one of the most amazing escapes from relegation in English football history. West Brom became the first team since the advent of the modern Premiership in 1992-93 to escape relegation after being bottom of the table at Christmas. Once all results came in and West Brom were secure, thousands of Baggies fans at The Hawthorns ecstatically ran onto the pitch. Many Portsmouth fans joined the celebrations, as one of the teams relegated at West Brom's expense were their arch-rivals Southampton.
• West Ham United F.C. V Millwall F.C. (25 August 2009) Football League Cup. After West Ham equalised, fans invaded the pitch but did not cause a major disturbance. After West Ham scored twice more, hundreds of their fans invaded the pitch and riot police were hastily deployed. It took over six minutes for the police to clear the pitch. The minister for sport, Gerry Sutcliffe, was quoted as saying "the violence between West Ham and Millwall was a disgrace to Football" and the pitch invasions were widely condemned by the FA and the players.

American sports

Oregon State football fans prepare to rush the field in a historic upset of #3 USC in 2006

Houston Cougars football fans rushing the field after defeating rival Texas Tech in 2009

In the United States, a pitch invasion is known as "storming or rushing the field."

This is especially common in college football and/or high school football when a team pulls off a major upset, defeats a major rival or notches a history-making win. Many schools employ riot police to physically prevent fans from rushing the field, a controversy in and of itself. However, with the widespread advent of artificial turf such as FieldTurf, some schools are becoming more lax about students invading the pitch.

In modern baseball, a pitch invasion is typically undertaken by one or a small number of attention seeking fans or pranksters, rather than a large number of people. Almost universally, the perpetrator(s) will be ejected and banned for life from the ballpark.

In cases when a game is broadcast on television and a person or small group runs onto the field, the broadcaster will cut to another camera shot elsewhere in the stadium, to the announcers in the press box, or to a commercial break instead of focusing on the person(s); this is to avoid to giving attention to their behavior, and to discourage imitators who might try the same thing.

College basketball has a similar phenomenon, known as "storming the court". This normally happens for the same reasons as storming the field in college football, and is somewhat de rigueur on the lower levels of the sport, as in some gyms, the only way to exit from the stands is to go on or near the court.

However, more recently, some conferences have begun cracking down on pitch invasions in all sports.

Morganna, the Kissing Bandit

Morganna, the Kissing Bandit became famous for rushing the field in baseball and other sports from the early 1970s through the 1980s. She rushed the field on numerous occasions and kissed many Major League Baseball players including Nolan Ryan, Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, George Brett (twice), Steve Garvey, and Cal Ripken, Jr.

Southeastern Conference penalties

Section 10.5 of the Southeastern Conference By-Laws has a progressive fine policy in major sports: $5,000 for the first offense, $25,000 for the second offense, and $50,000 for third and subsequent offenses within a three-year period of the last pitch invasion.

After three years without a pitch invasion, a school will have the pitch invasion rule reset to one, meaning that the next pitch invasion will be declared a second violation, and the school will be fined $25,000.

The Kentucky Wildcats have been hit with "the triple" for three football pitch invasions within eleven months:

• On November 4, 2006, the team were fined $5,000 for a pitch invasion after a football win against Georgia.
• On September 15, 2007, the team were fined $25,000 for a pitch invasion after a football non-conference win against archrival Louisville.
• On October 13, 2007, the team were fined $50,000 for a pitch invasion after a triple overtime football win against top-ranked LSU.

Vanderbilt and South Carolina have been fined $25,000 for second offense violations, but most SEC schools have been fined $5,000.

Other conference penalties

Other conferences have similar By-Laws; in some conferences, the pitch invasion rule is reset to zero after five years without a pitch invasion, and the fine is doubled in the event that a player or official is injured as a result of the pitch invasion.

Famous field invasions

• Chicago Cubs vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (April 25, 1976; National League): Two protesters, William Thomas and his 11-year-old son, ran into the outfield at Dodger Stadium and tried to set fire to an American flag they had brought with them. Chicago outfielder Rick Monday noticed they had placed the flag on the ground and were fumbling with matches and lighter fluid; he then dashed over and grabbed the flag from the ground to thunderous cheers. He handed the flag to Los Angeles pitcher Doug Rau, after which the ballpark police officers arrested the two intruders. When he came up to bat in the next half-inning, he got a standing ovation from the Los Angeles crowd and the big message board behind the left-field bleachers in the stadium flashed the message, "RICK MONDAY... YOU MADE A GREAT PLAY..." He later said, "If you're going to burn the flag, don't do it around me. I've been to too many veterans' hospitals and seen too many broken bodies of guys who tried to protect it." On August 25, 2008, Monday was presented with an American flag flown over Valley Forge National Historical Park in honor of his 1976 rescue.
• Kansas City Royals vs. New York Yankees (October 14, 1976; American League Championship Series): Chris Chambliss hit a walk-off home run in game five of the series to send the Yankees to their first World Series in twelve seasons. Fans rushed onto the field while Chambliss circled the bases. The scene was so frenetic that Chambliss himself wasn't even sure he touched home plate in the chaos, and had to be escorted back onto the field after fans had left to step on home plate in view of the home plate umpire.
• Detroit Tigers vs. Chicago White Sox (July 12, 1979; American League): In a promotion famously known as Disco Demolition Night fans were invited to bring disco records with them to Comiskey Park. The records would then be destroyed in between games of a doubleheader. Fans were so caught up in the anti-disco mania that a near-riot broke out and the second game had to be cancelled. The game was eventually forfeited by the White Sox.
• University of California, Berkeley vs. Stanford University (November 20, 1982; Pacific-10 football): In the final seconds of the 1982 Big Game against the University of California, Berkeley (Cal), band members (as well as players from both teams) ran out onto the field, thinking the game was over. Cal players lateralled the kickoff back and forth, with Cal's Kevin Moen dodging through the band for a winning touchdown, which he ended by running over trombone player Gary Tyrrell in the end zone. "The Play" is celebrated by Cal fans and inspires the ire of many Stanford fans. To this day, it remains one of the most famous plays in American football history. (The game does not end until the last play ends, even if the game clock runs out of time while the last play is still in progress. A penalty was called as a result of "The Play", but it was only because the spectators and band members had crowded onto the field while the game was in progress.)
• LSU vs. Kentucky (November 9, 2002; SEC football): Kentucky looked as if they would pull off a home upset of the Tigers when they held a 30-27 lead with two seconds left and LSU with the ball at their own 26-yard line. As Quarterback Marcus Randall heaved a Hail Mary pass downfield, fans rushed onto the edges of the field ready to celebrate Kentucky's victory. However, the pass was deflected off two Wildcat defenders and into the hands of LSU wide receiver Devery Henderson, who was able to run into the end zone to cap a 33-30 win for LSU and leaving the fans on the field stunned at the turn of events. The play would come to be known as the Bluegrass Miracle. Five years later at the same stadium, Wildcats fans invaded the field after avenging the loss with a win, and the school was fined $50,000 for a third violation of the conference's policy prohibiting pitch invasions (see above).
• November 2, 2008 - Texas Tech vs. Texas - Texas Tech fans invaded the Jones AT&T Stadium turf three times during the final moments of the game. The first happened after Michael Crabtree caught a touchdown pass from Graham Harrell with one second to go: overjoyed fans, thinking the game was over and the Red Raiders had upset #1-ranked Texas, spilled out onto the field, doing so again after the extra point. Tech was assessed two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for this, forcing them to kick off from the 7-and-a-half yard line. After a Longhorn player was downed trying to return the kick, the fans invaded the pitch one final time.

Rugby league

In New South Wales Rugby League matches up until the 1980s, spectators often took to the field on the completion of the match within seconds after the final siren. This required the players to navigate through a crowd of people when coming off the field, and the cardboard corner posts were usually taken as "souvenirs".

This practice was discouraged when the publicly viewable game clock stopped with five minutes to play in order to ensure that spectators, not knowing when the game was about to finish, could not jump the gun and enter the playing arena with the game unfinished. Eventually the tradition died out, and spectators rarely, if ever, take the field in the present day National Rugby League; fines of $7000 and lifetime bans exist for those who do so.

References

'Steward hurt in cricket chaos' - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1393761.stm

External links

• Video of Aussie Rules kick-to-kick pitch invasion Brisbane Lions vs West Coast Eagles game from YouTube