Should clubs be punished for fans attacking players? | The Debate | Paul Merson & Dion Dublin 

Finally Merson hit nail on head. If I’m a arsenal fan I’m going over Tottenham and running on the pitch if means 3 points taken off. Would get silly

Agree with Merson, point deduction would make rival fans do it pretending to be another teams supporters.

I dont belive clubs should take the blame of such fools anybody who runs on to a pitch should take full blame

If a casino can ban you from casinos worldwide for counting cards (which isn’t illegal), why can’t people who invade the pitch be banned from all sporting arenas worldwide?

The Birmingham fan who attacked Jack Grealish is the hamroll of the week

Anyone running on the pitch should get an instant £20,000 fine, banned for life from all uk stadiums and whatever prison time is deemed necessary. Sorted.

Points deduction wouldn't solve the problem! Also, racism like Banana being thrown at players should be treated same as this as it's racial assault as well.

This is when merson comes alive lol 😂 talking about his true love Aston Villa

Stick a moat around the pitch ..... sorted👍🏽

I can't believe I'm saying this, but Merson is spot on everything here. The thing is that this is not primarily a football problem, but is, like racism and sexism, a wider society problem. Unfortunately there's no easy and short term solution, and I don't think broken society can be fixed via football, but I think for a start clubs should be doing more community work, with more people involved, to develop positive relationships with fans and try to stamp out primitive hatred towards other people. A guarantee of success would be to see genuine fans reacting at the right time when they see something like pitch invasion attempt is going on, but it's a long way away from that situation

Focus on prevention rather than intervention.

I think we're seeing more & more of this absolution of personal responsibility in our society. Adults are responsible for their actions, which means punishing them for their mistakes, not everybody else. None of us want to have to go back to watching football matches through cages like we had to back in the 80's.

Best i've seen from Merson. Don't always agree with him but I think he's spot on here.

Imagine hosting a talk show and getting two people who couldn't articulate themselves to save their lives on at the same time.

"The zulus are in you've got 10 minutes to leave"... Who's city is it? 😏

What would of happened if Grealish did protect himself? No doubt he’d have been sent off just for doing the natural thing

The reason people go on pitches is for Clout. And if teams have points deducted people would go on pitches just to prove that they are strong enough to harm a multi million dollar team.

asking footballers complex questions... not a good idea!

Great debate and such a sticky situation in terms of what kind of punishment should be given to stop these idiots. Clubs should definitely not be punished imo like the boys mentioned

Don't usually like Merson, he was 100% here though

Dion Dublin is a great pundit.We need to see more of him.

Get proper private security at the stadiums

On the point of giving the opposite team a straight win for an assualt on a pitch by a rival fan, what's to stop me, a Liverpool fan, dressing up in a man city kit, assaulting a player (not that i would) just to force a loss to City that they can't control, it's not a good system, people will abuse it

no way should the club be punished for some fans idiotic behaviour, ban them for life

The man should take full responsibility for his actions. He made a choice to do that no matter what. He obviously knew what he was doing

There is no place for this in football.. absolutely sickening!

Any question from another pundit : Paul Merson: I don’t know. I really don’t know

If they had better security than this could’ve been prevented, plain and simple

To find an in ground fix for these instances, you need to look at examples of stadia around the world where solutions have been put in place to stop it and it's worked. Black netting which comes down from the stadium roof could be a solution, as something similar is used in some South American stadia.

"Dont punish working class people",... Exactly u snobs

Paul Merson totally hit the nail on the head with this debate

They need a alarm to warn players about pitch invaders

in Australia its a coward punch probably 3-5 years minimum

Birmingham v Villa..proper derby...end of...

That was tedious to listen to. I'm sorry to say this but saying any fan who steps on the pitch should automatically go to prison is idiotic. Apart from issues as to whether prison, especially short term sentences, does anything to rehabilitate offenders and other legal issues; what happens when you have a pitch invasion after a team is promoted or wins a title (as alluded to by Dion Dublin)? Would we then have to imprison thousands of fans?

I know it's a topical show so you're gonna talk about what's newsworthy, and rightly so, people need to hear about it. On the other hand when they start talking about stewards needing to be more physically capable, won't necessarily intervene in a violent situation, not being paid much, I can just picture certain people now looking at them pointedly as a weakness not a strength. Nothing to be deterred by. Even the constant mention of KNIFE, KNIFE, KNIFE, to somebody out there that's a trigger because now you've put it in the mind. I don't think thats over the top to say either. For me it's a jail sentence, but make it clear to all in attendance, if you harm a player or manager you will be put behind bars. I think because football can be a little loose with rules and morals people think they can attack somebody and only get a slap on the wrist. Shame some people can't just enjoy a GAME of football.

Punish the individual, makes more sense then holding the club responsible.

10 minutes... drink up... and your out hahahahha

You don't need big high fences to stop people. A 2ft high and maybe 2-3ft wide fence, with some sort of retractable hooks or spikes, designed the right way, would be enough to get someone tangled up long enough for the stewards to drag them away. Plus it'd be fun to watch.. Especially if they were electrified.

Punish the INDIVIDUAL! Why should a club and 30,000 supporters be punished for the act of one or two pricks. Must add that clubs have to make their stewards more proactive to pitch invaders. The surprising thing is when the pitch was invaded I didnt see more than 1 steward chasing. Should have been minimum 3 and up to 5.

Wait, if a fan runs onto the field to attack a player and the player _defends_ themselves *the player gets banned!?*

I don't get why clubs should be punished for what idiots do!!

Re: Him being "cheered by 20,000" as he was dragged off by stewards. Seems to be total misinformation. Some cheering at the stewards for catching & removing him, some in disbelief at what they'd seen - stunned silence. I have no connection to either club, this is what I have seen from Birmingham fans at the game

Fine the club?. By that same logic if someone gets punched on the bus then the bus company should get fined, right?

These players are worth millions surely there should be much higher security at football stadiums.

Watching this nearly 2 years after the incident. And for.all the "disgust" at the time by the media and clubs, what has changed???? Nada!!

The presenter is such an absolute tool. Whenever they point out the numerous people who could be made to suffer significant financial hardships or losses by stadium closures, points deductions, matches being called off he comes out with "But would it be enough of a deterrent?" How on earth does that even matter? If you knew the punishment for something would be your entire family being round up and shot it'd probably be a significant deterrent, but it doesn't make it right to impose it. Punishing other people for the actions of an individual in the hope that THEY will impose their will on the person to make them stop doing something is morally reprehensible and a tactic which was regularly employed by fascist regimes over the course of history (it should go without saying, these are extreme examples of the same line of thinking, rather than me wanting to suggest they are comparable in terms of severity) . The deterrent should be a punishment imposed on the individual, for the act. If the laws of the country are not sufficient to deter people, it is them that should be addressed, rather than punishing people who are completely innocent.

Merson is a bit crazy, but he is definitely the most entertaining

8 months prison & life ban 2 games behind close doors at St Andrews Also ban media for writing and reporting about it on shows like this. Just a simple statement from the club on their website.

I remember watching a Real Madrid vs Juventus game and there was like 3-4 pitch invasions. During the full 90 minute match. One of the persons whom I knew personally. He didn’t even go to jail? WTF lol

why not just say give people running on the pitch a lifetime ban?

Paul merson best ever quote “I don’t know”

Tennis player Monica Seles was #1 player and during a match a german spectator stabbed her in the back close to her spine .

The sooner people get it into their heads that there aren't special laws for football the better. The bloke was jailed for the assault. Pitch invasion is trespassing at best and would get a fine at most. Stopping people getting on the pitch is the football club's responsibility. Protecting the players is the football club's responsibility. Punishing people who break THE law is the responsibility of the judicial system.

Happened at a Stockport county game years ago

Stop selling so much beer to everyone.

Each Prem and Champ club should just employ a security firm to prevent this stuff working with the stewards. If someone goes on its on the security firm.

I was there, Grealish ran backwards into his fist , diving twerp he is

I never thought i'd agree with Merson but the way he stood up for people who work at these clubs, i have a newfound respect for him

Blinkered vision by Dublin, basically saying football has no responsibility to change anything and it's up to the government to put everyone in prison. I guarantee if stadiums got closed or points were deducted, clubs would find a solution, be it fences, better security, or further distance from the pitch.

The idea of punishing everyone associated with a club for the actions of one person is absolutely absurd.

What a stupid question

Both of them We don't know I don't know This and that Hold on you guys get paid to express your veiw

Watching this game with a few friends and when this pleb rab on the pitch. I remember everything going slightly reddish and in slow motion. We were right behind it.

Teams fanatical fans would be paying people to take a 14 week prison sentence to run on pitch of a rival team posing as that rival teams fan , who then gets a 3 point deduction penalty and lose league title etc .

First of all the security personals or staff who were in charge of ground security should b fired ASAP.

i say if we just put sniper towers up an just pick off anyone running on the pitch we'd have no issues.

Clubs shouldn't be Punished for the actions of 'idiots'. If clubs do start being punished, this opens up the opportunity for 'Rivals' to abuse the system - as Merson says. I think that clubs should be able to make punishments - ban the person for life etc as a way to deter others and 'harsher' prison sentences - not punish a Club for the action of 1 idiot. The punishments need to be harsh - both from the club and police - as a means to deter individuals. If they assault a player, that should be treated as an assault - and a tough sentence as its unprovoked assault...

Your acting like this doesnt happen all the time? People run on the pitch every week down in the lower leagues below the Prem. Ive literally got 2 videos on my Channel of our fans storming on the pitch twice this season already! This is nothing new at all,there is only a big debate on the whole thing now because the guy who tried to smack Grealish was caught live on TV and it was a big derby game. The whole talk of fences,points deductions,empty stadiums is stupid. The guy who did has been banned and whatever else so its been sorted,move on.

Paul was spot on today.

i’m glad grealish scored the winner, almost makes the guys actions of running on the pitch worthless and i hope the pitch invader sees the fact that what he did was worthless

21:00 comrade Merson

Talking about the Stewards, a Birmingham City Steward also attacked Jack Grealish from behind by kicking him after Jack jumped into the ground to celebrate his goal with the Villa fans, the Police arrested the Steward and led him away, he was later dismissed by the Club.

Might as well ask should all muslims be punished for the actions of ISIS? Should all men be punished for the actions of some rapists? It's 2019, I can't believe we're still debating whether or not collective punishment should be handed out for the actions of an individual.

No - it should be the venues responsibly, as in, the security and staff. The club itself shouldn’t be punished for the actions of an unsolicited attack by an individual not associated by the club other than being a fan. I’m sure the staff had a debrief after this stunt to ensure they’d be more diligent in the future.

When you can gamble on football, deducting points, or instant win for the opposite team would bring all sorts of major Problems!

Give 3 yr mandatory prison sentences if they go on to the pitch to cause harm , if they just go on to "streak" for example life ban and a year in jail , it may seem excessive but it will stop it

'would he have done that to Tyrone Mings?' not a chance hahah

I feel as though it's the home teams responsiblity to protect the players on the pitch. They failed to do this, so their next game should be played behind closed doors and as a fine all season tickets holders are remeimbursed by the club for their ticket price. This ensures that the club is punished for failing to protect the players and fans are heald accountable to for allowing another fan to get on the pitch. If a fan sees someone attempting to get on the pitch they should aim to prevent them from doing so

I think there should only be consequences as harsh as this if 1. These situations happen more than once at a club and 2. After the first incident(s) the club doesn't take the necessary measures to increase security pitch side

How about each club having to properly hire (with a decent wage) and train them rather than volunteers/low payed/untrained stewards. Its on the clubs to keep there stadiums as safe as possible and yet the one place they should invest money in protecting the players they are lack luster. lets get these boys paid and trained.

Very very disrespectful fan who hit grealish so hard! :/

If crippling fines were enforceable, that could be a deterrent

Short answer : Yes Long answer : watch a boring 20 min video

They strike on a good point... the tribalism associated is the difficulty... this guy did it for admiration and was cheered by thousands as he was removed. He was probably encouraged too. The best way to discourage this is to alienate individuals who do this from their tribe. That means punishment against the club. That will make an individual doing this a 'bad guy' from not only the media and players, but also from his own tribe - The individual will essentially be discouraged and at risk of being an outcast amomg their own people. That is the best deterrent. FACT. Needs closed doors or points deduction. Not fair on the club, but is the best chance at stopping this other than putting up fences. The individual also needs serious repercussions too of course.

Why is a peaky blinder on a football pitch anyway

The FA and FIFA should lobby to lawmakers about imposing security clearances. In order to be on the pitch, you need a clearance. That way they could impose stricter punishments for anyone who comes on to the pitch just like they would be for trespassing in high security areas all over the world.

Punished for something we all wish we could do but don't actually have the balls to do it ... and the ones that do are treated as hooligans ...

You’ve been in a lot of bars Paul

Classic 'i dunnno' merson...

What is he even thinking doing that , I know its a derby and they hate each other but that is seriously not right !

Wouldn't be fair punishing the team tbh ! Deal with culprit!

I pretty sure you could suggest nuking the entire world as a punishment and Merse would be like 'no that's crazy' as Geoff would say 'but it would be enough of a deterrent'.

can anyone explain how this ban from all football matches work? if he gone to other stadium can they actually identified him? with what? are they any ban list on every stadium that the stuart need to read and check every single person that you are not on the list and may enter the stadium? so what if he wear a wig? shave all the hair? i wonder how many people were on the list already.. 💆‍♂️💆‍♂️💆‍♂️

Change the design of hoarding boards so that fans can not jump over then. Make them v shaped or something so there is a gap within them and whenever someone tries to run on the pitch they had to go through that depression which would give stewards time to contain.

Merson Makes sense: Close the gates? How many INNOCENT people lose their wages?

have snipers on the roof of the stadiums...

Nobody: Paul Merson: Err I don't know I really don't know

Anyone goes on pitch it's stewards faults. Not forgetting you get searched at most grounds and they never do it properly

13:36 nothing more then facts