I was right up by the Copeland front and what I saw was embarrassing. Stewards hardly intervened, a small group went on first and then came back to beckon the next lot. Once numbers grew it all became a bit of a free-for-all. I told a couple of young ones nearby to calm down — I wasn’t stopping anyone celebrating, just trying to prevent daftness.

What happened where I was

There were maybe twenty or thirty that went on first, then returned to shout for more to follow. Apart from a token line, there was surprisingly little resistance. A few more police arrived once it had escalated, but they seemed pretty relaxed about stopping people getting onto the pitch. From my angle it looked like the stewards and the police weren’t set up to deal with that kind of thing quickly.

Who should be taking responsibility?

Stewards are there to keep the game safe for everyone, and the police are responsible for crowd safety and preventing illegal pitch entries. Neither did their job properly, in my view. That’s not excusing the people who ran on at all — they were daft and dangerous — but stewarding failures made a tense situation much worse. It should have been contained before it grew.

The aftermath and how it’s been handled

I fully condemn the scenes. Whoever ended up on the pitch was acting stupidly, and the club will rightly face questions. I’m worried we’ll take a heavy hit in punishment and, to be frank, don’t expect parity in how things are judged on both sides. Did you see O'Neil's press conference saying the fans just wanted to celebrate? If you ask me he should have been firmer — called it out as unacceptable and moved on.

Truth is, we need better stewarding at both ends and clearer messaging from managers and clubs when stuff like this happens. Fans want to celebrate, fine — but not by making the whole place look a mess and risking people’s safety.

Written by Rosevale: 1 April 2026

Tags: opinion