The end of the season is the most emotional time in the footballing year. It’s when teams lift trophies and escape the drop and when fans give a salute to their heroes, with the Premier League promising to come to a spectacular conclusion in the last round of fixtures on Sunday. But in 2022 the season’s climax has seen emotion turn to disorder, once more causing disquiet at all levels of the game.
Pitch invasions by supporters have caused trouble at Nottingham Forest, Northampton, Everton and Port Vale this week, as playoff fixtures and relegation matches ended with players being targeted by fans. On Thursday Robert Biggs, a 30-year-old Forest season-ticket holder, was jailed for 24 weeks for running on to the pitch and head-butting Sheffield United’s Billy Sharp.
