In yet another incident of pitch invasion by supporters cost Hearts £4000 via a fine imposed by Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) after a group of supporters broke the barricade and entered into the field at Anfield. These supported are said to be cheering a goal by Hearts against Liverpool in Europe League play-off clash between these two teams. The governing body took this matter very seriously and issued a fine for the incident that took place on August 30. In a statement, UEFA said, “Heart of Midlothian FC have been fined €5,000, equivalent to £4000, by the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body for ‘pitch invasion by supporters’ at last month’s UEFA Europa League play-off second-leg match at Anfield Road between Liverpool FC and the Scottish club.” After the fine, there is a hope that club will restraint such incidents in future and a soccer field will probably remain the best and disciplined gaming zone as ever.
In that match, a crowd of around 1500 spectators invaded the field after David Templeton, heart’s midfielder, scored a goal for hearts in 85th minute that leveled the Liverpool’s lead at that moment. Celebrating the goal, these spectators broke away the barricade and entered into the pitch which could be a serious security violation for the club and both the teams. However, fans’ reason for celebration could not hold for longer as Liverpool’s Luis Suarez again took the lead that eventually eliminated Hearts out of the competition.
After almost a month of investigations, UEFA has finally announced its decision on the basis of its disciplinary codes of conducts whereby they imposed a €5,000 (£4000) fine on hearts for whatever happened on the ground that day. The amount may look very insignificant but it is enough to bring the issue in everybody’s eyes, so that in future, spectators will behave more civilized and ground staff remains more active and vigilant than last month. For any league, its teams and players safety is more important than anything else, so it is necessary that every regularity authority handles such violations seriously to reduce these incidents in future. For now, Hearts can appeal against the judgment if it thinks so, and if it has some evidences that could prove that there were adequate safety arrangements on the ground. Till then, this order is final and acceptable to all.