Drone Breaks Up Euro Qualifier

((HT: Sport Central))

This might be the next step in hooliganism- the HQ is still trying to figure out if this move below was a genius one-off or the beginning of something that could get infinitely more dangerous over time.

Serbia and Albania were going at it in the first half of their Euro 2016 qualifier when someone got very ingenious with their attempt at game interruption. This, folks, was no black lab...


When you wave an Albanian flag in Belgrade, it's the equivalent of waving something in a bull's face in the ring.

UEFA had banned Albanian fans from being in the building, so someone decided to fly the drone. The Albanian flag had a map of Kosovo and the message 'autochthonous', meaning indigenous- drooping from the craft.

That's when players and fans all got into it. Serbian defender Stefan Mitrovic pulled the flag down and that act seemed to start it.

The political background for all of this dates back to 1999 when NATO had an almost three-month long air war to stop the killing and expulsion of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo by Serbian forces. Kosovo declared independence in 2008, but this is not recognized by Serbia. Adding to that, seven of Albania's squad were born in the Kosovo region.

The match was abandoned and may not have been a good idea in the first place.

According to Reuters, the brother of Albanian Prime Minister was arrested in the V.I.P Box and was found with a remote.

'He was arrested on suspicion that he masterminded and executed the incident in which a flag with a map of greater Albania was flown over the pitch and the terraces, after which the match between Serbia and Albania was abandoned."

Hooligans Strip Brazilian Soccer Player Mid Match

((HT: FoxSports))

Hooliganism is a world-wide activity in football leagues and we now, the HQ thinks, have the next step in the process...

It usually involves smoke, fire, chanting, protesting, throwing things, and stuff like that...

But, in the 4th level of the country's soccer ladder, we now have stripping an athlete in the middle of a game...

Here's the report from the news down there (and, yes, it's in Portuguese), but the visual is still impactful

Hooligan Hurls Bicycle At Bagpiper

((HT: Telegraph/Babb))

Could not make this one up...

It's the early rounds of Europa and Champions League qualifying where you have squads from all corners of the continents involved playing other teams from other corners.

In the Europa League, Aberdeen was traveling to the Netherlands and back to play FC Groningen. The Aberdeen supporters even were making the Dutch feel at home with bagpipers walking through the streets.

One guy, apparently, was not a fan...
Watch the left part of your screen, thanks RTV Noord...


No word on if the mental pygmy was booked for illegal bike chucking- although a felony stupidity charge wouldn't have been a bad idea.

Russian Premier Game Abandoned, Fan Takes Swing At Captain

((HT: The Score/HQ Football240))

Here's a good way to get a match abandoned- a court storming
In the 88th minute, fans from Zenit St. Petersburg came onto the pitch with their team trailing Dynamo Moscow 4-2


And the long version


Watch one of the Zenit ultras (the shirtless guy wearing the black gloves) try to take a swing at Dynamo captain Vladimir Granat


Andre Villas-Boas is in charge at Zenit, but apparently that's only on the pitch. And their title coronation imploded thanks to their own fans. The team is one point ahead of the Russian Premier table with two games left.

Our Occasional Hooligan Storming Of The Pitch...

The HQ admits that we see this around Europe and it happens more than we care to admit...

Hooliganism...

And today, we had another storming of the pitch and an assault of a soccer player...

In a League One match-up between Swindon Town and Leyton Orient, some jagoff decided he was going to storm the pitch and take a swing at Leyton Orient goalkeeper Jamie Jones...


Leyton Orient manager Russell Slade is demanding the fan be banned for life from County Ground, but the HQ won't hold its breath on that one. Slade talked to SkySports after the match:

"It was a great win but it was clouded by the fan coming on to the pitch and throwing three punches at my goalkeeper," said Slade.

"It was totally unbelievable - the worst scene I have seen since I have been a manager.

"Jamie is okay but it doesn't make it right, it is outrageous. He needs a ban for life and should never go to another football match.

"He had a long time in the six-yard box before the stewards did anything."

Here's post-match reaction from fans as Leyton Orient won 3-1...
((HT: SwindonTV))


Swindon Town issued an-almost immediate apology to Leyton Orient...

"We will be speaking to the police with reference to their report next week," chairman Jed McCrory told the Swindon Advertiser.

"We don't condone any actions where supporters come on to the pitch and, if found guilty, he will receive a ban.

"We apologise to Jamie Jones, the Leyton Orient board members and their supporters and will review the stewarding around the ground to make sure this doesn't happen again.

"I would also like to mention that overall the Swindon Town fans during my time at the club have been impeccable. We don't want one incident to ruin the club's supporters' reputation for being a fun and well-behaved crowd both home and away."

And here's post-match reaction from Swindon Town manager Mark Cooper
((HT: Swindon Advertiser))

British Fan Violence: Round 4,012

((HT: Sky Sports))

It is well known at HQ that fan violence and/or participation in British soccer has its moments of silliness, stupidity, worry, and just outright hooliganism...

What happened the other night in the Capital One Cup had a little bit of a lot of the above mentioned antics...

Preston North End was playing Blackpool in Round One- and for those not completely engrossed in the sport, Blackpool is in the Championship (think triple-A baseball) and Preston is in League One (think double-A).

Preston scored late for a 1-0 win and all blue hell broke loose...

Preston's fans stormed the pitch and taunted the 4,000 Blackpool supporters which, of course, led to more Preston fans storming the pitch. And what's worse is that some of the horse-drawn cops inadvertently trampled a home steward after a fan pushed the steward into the line of traffic.

Blackpool manager Paul Ince has had enough:

"It’s an absolute joke. Who knows what could happen? It’s going to take someone to get stabbed or something else to happen before we’re going to listen. I wonder if there are enough stewards there."

Here's the worst part involving the steward who was hospitalized...


Instead of wondering when it will stop, the HQ just wonders what's next...

Soccer Fans Riot In Europa League Action: Who Knew, Right...???

((HT: Pro Soccer Talk)) The professional leagues in Britain start today, and the Europa League qualifiers are already in the third round... But who thought that fans would already be in full practice for rioting and showing outright displeasure this early in season... Take you to Odessa, Russia where Chornomorets Odesa was on their way to a 3-1 opening leg win over Red Star Belgrade when this happened... ((HT: Chornomorets Odesa their own selves)) The idea behind what you just saw is: If the fans stormed the pitch, the game might have been wiped off the books and the match-up would have to start from scratch... The ploy didn't work... One fan was listed in serious condition and it's not up to UEFA to decide punishment...

Hooligan Throws Bottle At Game-Winning Goal Scorer In MLS

((HT: NBCSN/MLS/Fox Soccer))

Here's one for you...

You score the game winning goal on home turf and get a bottle thrown at your head...

George John sealed the win for FC Dallas against the LA Galaxy the other night and this happen to him...


AT HOME!!!

Start your Millwall jokes...

The club released the following statement: ”It is always unacceptable to throw anything onto the field of play because it endangers the safety of all players and personnel. In this specific incident, we have identified the individual and we are proceeding according to protocol with FC Dallas Stadium security, Frisco Police and Major League Soccer.”

Peter Welpton of the Dallas Morning News reports that someone has been arrested in the incident. 33-year-old Brandon Burns was arrested for public intoxication.

John didn't want to file any charges on his own even as he ended up with 5 staples in his head after the goal.

OSG Prem: Millwall Loses In FA Cup To Wigan, Fights Themselves...

((HT: FA/ESPNUK))

Clearly, Wigan were the favorites in yesterday's FA Cup semifinal at Wembley against Millwall- and it showed...

Wigan actually controlled the ball for a great deal of the 90 minutes to set up an FA Cup final against either Manchester City or Chelsea- to be decided later today...

But, as is the want sometimes of "bored soccer fan," the Millwall side broke down into your standard, stereotypic battle among fans, more fans, and the local police...

Here's how it broke down late in the loss to the Latics...


Classy, ain't it...???

Especially to the guy who gets to leave with a police souvenir...

“There are always a few idiots,” said John Berylson, the American who owns Millwall. “That’s not our fan-base and we don’t even know who those people are. We will be investigating.”

Idiots... yes... the HQ will agree...

Turkish Fans Attack TV Station Before Soccer Match

((HT: Beyaz TV))

Because their pundits picked the other guys...
Doesn't matter of the other guys are Real Madrid...

Galatasaray was set to play Real in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League Quarterfinal at the Bernabeu...
And the fans heard the local TV guys go the other way...

Here's the security camera from the outside of the building as to what the fans who didn't make the trip did next...


Ronaldo did the first bit of scoring in the 10th minute and Karim Benzema followed that up with one of his own in the 29th...

So much for the pundits being wrong... and Galatasaray will have to do more at home than they're doing on the road...

Manchester Derby Ends In Fan Violence

This is what happens when fans are mental...

Manchester United was up 2-0, Man City came back to tie 2-2, Robin van Persie scores to make it 3-2- the eventual game-winner...

And then this happened to Rio Ferdinand...
((HT: SkySports/youtube))


A fan ran onto the field after that and charged Rio. Joe Hart stepped in between the fan and Ferdinand. Police immediately stepped in to find the fan who threw the coin, and we also imagine the fan who charged was taken down and taken away.

The interesting question will be how the League steps in after that...

Hooligans Attack Another Goalie During Play (UPDATED with ID)

((HT: SkySports/youtube))

We now have another bout of outright, classless hooliganism from Friday night...

Sheffield Wednesday goalie Chris Kirkland was attacked by a Leeds United fan who came onto the pitch after a goal that had tied the game 1-1 in the 77th minute.

Sheffield Wednesday manager Dave Jones called for Leeds fans to be banned from "every away ground."

It was the top of all the shenanigans that came out of Leeds supporter's mouths as they sang about Leeds fans that had been killed 12 years ago and even sang about Jones and his criminal charges from years past.

Here's the short version of the incident...


Leeds boss Neil Warnock told Sky:

"I felt embarrassed to be a manager when I saw that," Warnock told Sky Sports 1. "I thought it was an absolute disgrace. I think they should get the guy and prosecute him and put him in prison. (Kirkland) went down like a ton of bricks, but that doesn't make a difference. Nobody should be on the pitch doing that.

"I hope we can make an absolute issue of it. He spoiled everything for everyone. I've not enjoyed that when I see a moron like that. I am not proud of being Leeds manager when I see that. I don't mind the rivalry between us -- there was a great atmosphere. To see things like that on the field of play, there is no place for it -- I am absolutely embarrassed."

Warnock called for the assailant to be brought up on charges. Leeds came out with a statement saying that the publicly apologize for the actions of their fans and will cooperate fully with police.

SATURDAY AM UPDATE: South Yorkshire Police have ID'ed the attacker of Kirkland, but are not announcing his name at present.

Senior investigating officer, Detective Inspector Mark Monteiro, told the local press: "With the public's assistance we have clearly identified the offender who ran on to the pitch during last night's game between Sheffield Wednesday FC and Leeds United FC and who is suspected of assaulting the Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper.

"We are dealing with the complaint made by the player and we are currently taking statements, collating evidence and making inquiries to locate and arrest the offender."

It seems that a lot of social networking led to the divulging of the identity- and that included a possible phone number to call the guy (and call the guy out).

Soccer Team Sells Out Game, Can't Watch It...

Beacuse, in the eyes of the German Bundesliga, they're a bunch of hooligans and can't be trusted to behave...

So, what if there was a game and no one was allowed to see it...???

You get Dynamo Dresden and Ingolstadt...
And, yes, the highlights are in German...
((HT: SkyBundesliga/youtube))


32,066 tickets sold... attendance- zero...
And, of course, the game was a scoreless draw...