Football fans behaving badly: The ugliest scenes we have seen in stadium stands after Antoine Semenyo is racially abused by a disabled Liverpool supporter

On Friday, 15 August, Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo was allegedly racially abused by a Liverpool supporter in the Anfield stands during the first Premier League game of the new season.

A 47-year-old man was subsequently arrested by Merseyside Police on suspicion racial abuse towards the player, and on Tuesday Daily Mail revealed the identity of the fan.

Wheelchair user Mark Mogan was identified by police at half-time and escorted from the ground after eyewitnesses and stewards pointed him out along the touchline following the incident. 

It was revealed on Monday that Mogan, a Liverpool season ticket holder, had been bailed for three months pending further investigations. As part of his bail conditions, he has been forbidden to attend any football match and must report back to police in November.

If found guilty of racism, Mogan will be banned by Liverpool from attending matches for life. 

Here, Daily Mail Sport takes a look at various other incidents that took place between fans and players during a football match. 

Cantona’s kung-fu kick at Palace 

Perhaps the most famous confrontation between a player and a fan occurred 30 years ago in the stands at Selhurst Park.

After receiving a red card for hacking down Crystal Palace defender Richard Shaw, Eric Cantona began trudging off the pitch for an early bath. However, as he walked down the touchline, he was confronted by Eagles fan Matthew Simmons, who had sprinted down the stairs from his seat in order to shout abuse at the Frenchman.

Then came one of the most gobsmacking moments in the history of the Premier League, and indeed, English football as a whole.

Incensed by what he’d heard from the crowd, Cantona launched himself into the stands and Kung-fu kicked the fan. To this day, it’s an image that still defies belief, but Cantona does not regret it.

‘My best moment? I have a lot of good moments, but the one I prefer is when I kicked the hooligan,’ he once admitted.

Dier confronts fan in the stands 

Another occasion when a fan was taught that their harsh words can have consequences came in 2020, during an FA Cup fifth-round tie between Tottenham Hotspur and Norwich City.

While Tim Krul was celebrating in front of a euphoric away end after heroically saving two penalties in a shootout to secure a shock win for the Canaries, Eric Dier had an interaction with his fans too. However, the scenes were ugly, rather than jubilant.

After seeing his younger brother Patrick in a rather animated argument with a Tottenham fan, Dier climbed into the stands in order to protect him.

Video posted to social media showed the moment the Spurs player began climbing over rows of seats to separate his brother from the fan, who had been hurling abuse at the defender during the match.

Dier ended up dragging his brother away from the incident and managed to escape prosecution from Metro Police. However, he was fined £40,000 by the FA as a result and served a four-match ban.

Grealish punched by Birmingham fan 

Rivalries in football can be intense and sometimes fans get carried away in the heat of battle. However, while screaming swear words at players from the stands is one thing, running onto the pitch and punching one crosses a multitude of boundaries.

During a derby match between Birmingham City and Aston Villa in 2019, Jack Grealish was assaulted by Blues supporter Paul Mitchell. 

The incident occurred in the ninth minute of the game when Mr Mitchell, wearing a flat cap, ran onto the field from the Tilton End and appeared to punch Grealish in the head from behind. The then Villa winger fell to the floor but thankfully did not appear to be badly hurt. A steward, helped by both sets of players, then restrained the man.

The supporter was subsequently jailed for 14 weeks after he pleaded guilty to assault and illegally entering the field of play. 

Grealish had the last laugh during the Second City derby as he scored what would end up being the match-winning goal and jumped over the advertising hoardings to celebrate with the Villa fans, who adored him at the time. 

West Ham fans storm pitch to confront players 

If West Ham fans think times are bad now, after their opening day humbling at the hands of newly-promoted Sunderland, here’s a reminder that things have been worse in not the not so distant past.

In 2018, during their second season at the London Stadium, there was a huge amount of discontent among the Hammers fan base, and things came to a head during a 3-0 home defeat at the hands of Burnley.

After seeing their side concede the opening goal, one fan managed to break through security in the stands and storm onto the pitch, confronting the West Ham players

West Ham captain Noble confronted one of the fans aggressively and appeared to throw him to the ground. He was then restrained by team-mates and the referee Lee Mason. 

However, it proved to be the starting pistol for more supporters to make their way onto the pitch. One ran on, took the corner flag, and planted it in the middle of the pitch. Two more fans managed to storm onto the pitch and confront James Collins and Pablo Zabeleta after the Irons conceded a second to Chris Wood.

‘As a supporter, you can’t cross the line,’ said David Moyes, who was Hammers boss at the time. ‘You know you can’t come on the pitch. That’s the rules.’

Middlesbrough fan throws season ticket at Steve McClaren

There is a theme beginning to emerge here. It seems that a lot of fans, over time, haven’t necessarily agreed with David Moyes’ statement. When they’re angry, many have seen it as their divine right to let players and managers know by storming the pitch.

It’s not just a recent trend; it’s been happening for years. 19 years ago, a Middlesbrough fan saw red and decided to climb over the advertising hoardings to give then Boro boss Steve McClaren a piece of his mind.

‘Emotions took over’ Mark Davison as he then threw a £390 season ticket at McClaren after seeing Aston Villa score their fourth goal of a 4-0 drubbing at the Riverside. 

‘Boro had no fight, no nothing,’ Davison said at the time. ‘When I saw the fourth goal go in, it was too easy for Villa. It did break my heart seeing it. The emotions took over and I just went. 

‘It triggered something. I started running through the stadium and saw a gap and just went. I was cut up with anger. I was angry with McClaren for his decisions and selections. It was instinctive to throw my ticket at him.’ 

Despite the incident, Boro decided against banning the supporter from the stadium. In fact, he ended up attending Middlesbrough’s historic UEFA Cup semi-final victory over Steaua Bucharest just two months after the incident.

Granit Xhaka clashes with Arsenal fans 

Granit Xhaka is remembered fondly by Arsenal fans for his seven-year stint in north London. However, the relationship between them was not always strong.

In 2019, Xhaka nearly quit the Gunners after he, rather shockingly, clashed with the whole of the Emirates crowd during a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace, while he was captain of the club. 

The Swiss midfielder already had a fractious relationship with the Gunners faithful before he was hauled off by former boss Unai Emery against the Eagles, but it plummeted even further when he was subject to ironic cheers when supporters realised that he was being taken off.

In response, the Gunners’ ex-skipper gesticulated with his arms to encourage the disgruntled fans to get behind the team. 

Then, in a moment that stunned the footballing world, he told them to ‘f*** off’, for reasons he has since explained were due to suffering ‘repeated abuse’ from his own fans.

He was subsequently stripped of the captaincy, and many assumed his days in red were over. 

However, he miraculously repaired his relationship with supporters and stayed at the club for a further three seasons.