ToffeeWeb Viewpoint

To Condone or Condemn?
by Lyndon Lloyd

Everton Football Club is in the news again for all the wrong reasons after the now-infamous incident at Highbury when Stephen Price invaded the pitch and offered to swap shirts with Alex Nyarko during the ritual four-goal drubbing at the hands of Arsenal.

Under normal circumstances, the sight of a beer-bellied, shaven-headed 40-something with flowery boxer shorts peeking out above his jeans remonstrating with an under-achieving but highly-paid Ghanaian international footballer would have been comical. However, during a Premiership match and under the media glare, Price broke what is a highly sensitive rule; he traversed the barrier between the stands and the pitch and you just can't do that anymore.

Of course, there isn't an Evertonian alive who didn't share in his obvious frustration and despair, emotions that prompted a Blue of 30 years to risk police action and a lifetime ban from following Everton by confronting a player, either specifically or symbolically, to make those feelings known.

With the game of football being run by increasingly distant and unsympathetic money-men and the clubs following suit, it often seems impossible for the average fan to have his or her voice heard by the "powers that be". In the heat of the moment, it should not be all that surprising that someone somewhere is going to snap and take matters into his own hands.

At a time when even the most average or least motivated players are earning more in a week than many fans earn in a year but display either considerably less or almost no passion and feeling for the club they represent, it is easy to feel like you want to march up to them and give them a timely reminder of what it's like to actually care.

However, Mr Price's actions come with all sorts of problems and set a dangerous precedent. If his actions are somehow condoned and go unpunished, the example is there for all to see that you can invade the field of play without serious consequences.

Why? Because not every hot-blooded terrace vigilante has the restraint displayed by Mr Price once he was actually on the pitch. In other words, his confrontation with Nyarko was not a violent one (it was merely designed to let the player know - in no uncertain terms - that he was fed up with the performance he was watching) but the next person could physically assault a player and for that reason alone, the pitch must remain sacrosanct, a total no-go area for fans.

From that perspective, Nyarko's reaction is understandable. While the confrontation was not a voilent one, Stephen Price did grab his shirt and the possibility of a more physical exchange existed. Now, no one except Price really knows if he deliberately singled Nyarko out or whether he just picked the first player he came to. Nyarko claims the same man has criticised him before but conflicting reports suggest the contrary, but it's not difficult to empathise with the fear of further "fan" action against him that Nyarko will now feel. It can't have made some other players in the Everton team feel all that comfortable either, which is why the Independent Everton Supporters Association's public sympathy for Price is dangerous and miscalculated.

Everton should, therefore, take action against Price for infringing the law and make an example of him so that this does not happen again. The fact that Price was not voilent towards Narko is not the point; the precedent he sets is far too dangerous for the game as a whole, not just for Everton fans.

If the incident had taken place at Goodison Park, the club would almost certainly be looking at a points deduction penalty and a hefty fine for "failing to contol supporters". The fact that it happened at an away ground was the only thing good to come from the whole Price-Nyrko incident (except perhaps Nyarko's decision to leave!), but the precedent needs to be crushed lest it happen again during a home game.

If Everton were to be deducted points because of a pitch invasion at Goodison Park, it could be enough to send the club down to the Nationwide League - the fear of which situation [relegation] prompted Mr Price's actions in the first place. That threat is all too real should another fan decide to take the law into his own hands before the season is over. For that reason alone, the club needs to act publicly and decisively against Stephen Price, irrespective of the sympathy and empathy we and they may have with his reasons.

©2001 ToffeeWeb, 23 April 2001