Sucker, er, I mean, Soccer Punch?

Sunday , 10, March 2019 9 Comments

I readily admit that I’m not a soccer fan. I don’t have any ill-will toward the sport; rather, I’ve just never followed it. So it may/may not be surprising to hear that a fan jumped out onto the field of a pro soccer game and punched one of the visiting players in the back of the head. Read the article by clicking HERE

Like I said, maybe this kind of stuff happens alot in professional soccer games. It just seems ridiculous to me. First, whomever is in charge of security at this venue should be fired. Period. The fact that his guy was able to run all the way from the stands and onto the field (which is very wide) is crazy. Secondly, the guy who has been arrested should NEVER be able to enter a professional soccer game for the rest of his life. I mean, if you can’t control your anger at a SPORTING EVENT, then, well, I don’t just know…

Now, I’m not saying this guy should spend a year in jail, although there should be a criminal sanction.

Thoughts?

9 thoughts on “ : Sucker, er, I mean, Soccer Punch?”
  • Kate Bennett says:

    I, too, do not like soccer, but have 3 kids who play it (U9-U13 teams). I tolerate it. I have never been to a professional game nor have I ever seen anyone brawl over the game. Although, violent behavior at soccer games seems to be the norm in other countries, it hasn’t gotten to that level in the U.S. Just last week, a 12 year old from Illinois punched the referee square in the jaw. Brookfield police arrested two 17-year-olds and the 12-year-old, giving them citations for battery and disorderly conduct, and then released them to their parents. Watch the story if you want at https://wkow.com/news/2019/03/06/referee-attacked-by-soccer-players-in-brookfield/ .

    Overall, behavior at all sporting events has deteriorated. Parents brawling at youth wrestling meets, a famous coach being banned from WIAA events for his poor conduct, college refs attacked by the coach after the game at a Tech College game…all of these happened locally. Many adults are living vicariously through youth athletes and showing poor sportsmanship – leading by negative example. Society cannot tolerate this behavior any longer.

  • Erin Jensen says:

    This was a highlight on some ESPN show…not the team but this guy punching one of the players!
    As a coach, not of soccer, I see fans, parents, and coaches behavior become more problematic today than when I participated in sports. I feel like there is now this expectation of perfection amongst athletes and referees–ore at the professional level but I see it trickling down–and if that expectation is not met it is now the job of the fan or parent or coach to check you on it…This fan obviously was not happy, felt that nothing was being done about it, so he took the problem into his own fists and decked the guy. I agree that if people cannot control themselves at sporting events then they should be not allowed to go–I understand being a fan means you get angry and disappointed sometimes but to resort to violent behavior no longer makes you a die-hard fan but, well, a criminal.

    I doubt the soccer player will sue the fan, but he has every right to. I am sure he has some really nice fines, but it has not been released if this guy is allowed back into future soccer games. I hope he is not…

  • Gina Gorman says:

    Competition makes some people downright crazy, however, this is pretty extreme. I agree that whoever is in charge of security should be fired, that fan should’ve never been able to make it on the field. I’m surprised someone, at the very least, another fan didn’t attempt to stop him. This guy should be banned from the stadium for life and maybe even professional sporting events. The player didn’t even see this attack coming which prevented him from defending himself in anyway, therefore, this guy should be receiving at least a battery charge. He should probably also be ordered to complete anger management classes.

  • Kellie Effinger says:

    It does seem ridiculous that this fan was able to not only make it on to the field, but reach a specific player that he was targeting. Considering how large the field is, the security presence has to be strong enough to prevent an instance like this from happening. Unfortunately, there are many examples of adults showing poor sportsmanship both professional and youth sporting events. This particular fan should not be allowed to attend a soccer match again and should face legal consequences. It is one thing to illegally go on to the field of play and another thing to be violent while doing so.

  • Heejung Moon says:

    I watch soccer, not a big fan, but do watch world cups and other big games only if my country is playing. Even though I am not a huge fan of any type of sport, I do know that there are people who consider sport as a really important part of their lives. When it comes to a certain team that they like, it is almost like their religion. I am using the word religion because there are people who literally consider it as their identity. I am not saying that it is bad, it is in fact not bad at all, but in case of this guy who punched the visiting player? It is where it went wrong. He must have been got himself too into the game. He should not be allowed to attend professional soccer game for at least few years and since he did attack a player on the field, he should be charged with it. For all the people to enjoy the sport as it is, these individuals need to learn about sportsmanship.

  • Gracie Blechl says:

    Sports and beer drinking go hand and hand. When you pair alcohol with “All American Fans” you can expect to hear trash talking from opposing teams in the stands. I don’t have any experience with soccer, watching or playing, but the majority of fan incident outbreaks have been while watching more physically aggressive sports such as football or wrestling. Although there was probably a packed stadium crowd wise, there had to have been several guards or policemen present at different locations. The inability to stop the crazed fan within that time frame causes me to ask what did the security guard even get paid for on that day? Yes, I agree, the man should be charged because assaulting anyone for such seemingly little reason needs to get jail time.

  • Susie Brtkova says:

    I also don’t like soccer. But I am from a country where it is quite a big deal. Violence comes largely hand in hand with these events, mostly between the fans though. Usually, at soccer games, there are swat teams and a bunch of cops ready to break up massive fights. People burn flags of the other team IN THE STADIUM. It’s ridiculous. Fans get wasted and then it’s just insanity. I’m sure the person will have some kind of a sanction. I mean, soccer is a big thing in Europe, players are celebrities. I’m sure people would go nuts here too if Aaron Rodgers got punched. Though that person would probably be dead by the time authorities could get there, considering American football players. Seems to me that in professional soccer it’s just a bunch of skinny dudes running around. Some kind of assault charge is definitely reasonable. Life long ban? Sure. Jail time? Probably not.

  • Jared Dixon says:

    I am actually pretty shocked that a fan was able to sprint across the field and punch a soccer player in the back of the head without any hassle, the guy also didn’t look that young making it more impressive. In American sports you get a lot more anger in the stands and amongst fans than fans against athletes. This was actually brought up at a great time as just a few days ago there was an incident in Salt Lake City with Russell Westbrook and a fan during an NBA game. This was sports media news for a whole day or two and Colin Cowherd of The Herd brought up and mentioned how basketball is the only sport in America where the athletes aren’t really protected. Fans can pay 3,000 dollars a ticket and essentially sit next to superstars of the NBA. A lot of aggression in American sports is between fans. Sports rivalries have been a thing in American sports forever whether Boston vs. Yankees in baseball, Green Bay and Chicago in football and many other rivalries. You also get commercials advertising these rivalries for example, Fox sports Wisconsin for years have been trying to make the Brewers and Cubs a rivalry, and it has slightly worked. These games have become very intense in the past few years and have had numerous fights break out in the stadium and parking lots. Alcohol fueled fans tend to do and say stupid things, but you will never have alcohol taken out of these events as there is too much money and sponsorship behind these events. As for the fan that hit the soccer player, I do think he should probably see a couple months in jail, but I would also agree that the “security manger” of that soccer field or team should have been fired on the spot. Events like American football and baseball, you can’t even get near the field as they have a human wall of security guards at these events.

  • Emma Mocco says:

    This story did not surprise me in the fact that someone got so mad they wanted to punch the other team in the face but it surprised me more that the man was able to get onto the field and physically assault someone… I agree with you that the security at this event should be fired. They have one job, that is to protect and keep watch of people doing things they are not supposed to be doing, and that clearly did not happen. You hear about #1 fans often and I think this guy took it to a whole other level. I am glad his teammates backed him up and went after the man right after the punch. I hated how he was so proud of himself after he got that punch in, you can see him blowing kisses into the bleachers and just the body language he is given off. He deserves to be banned forever for this action.

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