Jamie O’Hara defends Goodison Park scenes after Crystal Palace win
Jamie O’Hara has defended Everton fans as thousands of them stormed the pitch after their dramatic win over Crystal Palace.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s 85th-minute winner was enough to secure the Toffees’ Premier League status and send Goodison Park into delirium.
O’Hara was quick to support the Goodison faithful after the scenes at full-time.
Talking on talkSport on Thursday [19 May], O’Hara said: “Anyone who comes on here and digs out Everton fans for celebrating staying in the Premier League has got to remember they didn’t spend £560million.
“They’re just there to support their football club and Frank Lampard comes in and it was already an absolute mess.
“You’ve got to give them credit and you may say it’s over the top but you can see the relief as they know how much a disaster relegation would’ve been.”
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As much as O’Hara is right about Everton’s fans displaying their relief, jumping onto the pitch is not the best way to express it.
In the last week alone, a player has been assaulted, flares have been launched and a manager goaded.
With the issue around pitch invasions being talked about all over the news, the Goodison faithful should’ve refrained from running on the pitch.
Running on the pitch is only acceptable in one scenario – when a side has won the league.
Running on the pitch during playoff semi-finals or narrowly avoiding relegation just portrays a bad image onto the fan base.
Incidents arise from pitch invasions and something needs to be done to prevent them from happening.
If not, reduced capacities or games behind closed doors could be a possibility.
After a year of football being played without fans, it would be a massive shame to see empty seats return to football stadia.
Talk of more stewards and police may help, but ultimately it takes fans to stop making daft decisions.
In other Everton news, Yet another European giant who have enjoyed recent major success are eyeing a move for a key Everton man, according to a report.
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