Derby boss Frank Lampard demands football chiefs get tough on thugs
Lampard was the target of a fan attack 12 years ago when playing in an FA Cup quarter-final replay for Chelsea at Spurs
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FRANK LAMPARD has urged football chiefs not to brush the latest pitch-invader incidents under the carpet — and stop being "soft".
Lampard was the target of a fan attack 12 years ago when playing in an FA Cup quarter-final replay for Chelsea at White Hart Lane.
Chelsea were celebrating a 2-1 victory over Tottenham in front of their supporters when someone ran on to the pitch and aimed a wild punch at Lampard.
Lamps, now Derby manager, was dismayed to see two similar incidents last Sunday at Birmingham and Arsenal.
And he says “firm action” is needed before a player is seriously injured — potentially with a weapon.
Lampard says it is a question of changing the “culture” within the game.
Aston Villa ace Jack Grealish got hit from behind by an invader at St Andrew’s on Sunday — the Birmingham fan responsible was then arrested and handed a 14-week prison sentence.
Another thug ran on to confront Manchester United’s Chris Smalling after Arsenal’s 2-0 win at the Emirates.
Now Lampard says the two instances are a wake-up call and the issue cannot be ignored again.
He says the 2007 Tottenham attack brought the Chelsea side together even more and they went on to win the FA Cup that year.
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The Rams boss said: “I’m not massively surprised we’re still talking about it 12 years on, these things tend to be a story for a week and then we move on to something else.
“It goes away and things stay pretty much the same.
“What we need is some firm action on the match day itself, the security and the penalties for anybody who wants to break that.
"We’re very soft on things in the modern day, that’s why I think we should be very strict on this.
“When it happened to me, he swung and missed — it wasn’t so much my agility, it was his swing. I didn’t like the experience but you have to deal with it.
“It’s not nice and an unfortunate part of being in the public eye but it shouldn’t be.
“It’s how you deal with it — as for stamping it out, it’s how strong we are, we can be very lenient sometimes.”
Lampard, 40, admitted the prospect of someone running on with a weapon was clear and he added: “It’s an obvious fear for players and everyone.
“Maybe this can be a shock to the system to stop a more dangerous thing happening in the future.
“I wouldn’t want to see a return to fences, that’s not the solution.
"But it should go straight to the top of the agenda — it’s happened in Scotland, now here, we need to get away from the culture that says ‘it’s OK’.
“It’s something that needs to be dealt with on two fronts.
“Actively how do we stop it? And then after that, if one of 30,000 people gets on to the pitch — and especially if you’re going to go near a player — you get the full punishment that’s actually going to make you think twice about it.
“But it’s a concern, player safety is top of the list, security is one of the things that can be looked at. To stop one person is difficult.
“Then the deterrent has to be big. We should be very strict on it. It was a terrible incident with Jack.
“You should not be allowed to watch a match live if you do that. You have to serve a solid punishment, it’s not just going on the pitch and running around.
“It’s an attack on a player. I’m sure my players will be talking about it among themselves.
“It was a free hit and a blind hit. Jack didn’t stand a chance but his demeanour afterwards was spot on.
“The players have it in the back of their minds that something like that could happen — but it shouldn’t.
“I hope they’re not playing with any fear over it but they’ve been aware of it for many years.”
Lampard can afford to smile about what happened to him in 2007, saying: “There was no reason, he was a Tottenham fan and I was a Chelsea player — and we won 2-1!
“In the dressing room afterwards, it was one of those moments that made us very tight knit.
“As for Jack Grealish, he came out of it with nothing but good things — it’s not the answer but sometimes it’s how these things go.
“I’m pleased for Jack that he was OK. Fortunately no one was seriously injured, I don’t know him but he scored a great goal against us last week!
“Maybe the fans go for the talented players. He could have gone for anyone but typically they go for the star man.”