Millwall highlight ugly side of sport

Last weekend’s crowd trouble at, first, the FA Cup semi-final between Wigan and Millwall and then the local derby between Newcastle and Sunderland, was a horrible throwback to scenes we haven’t really seen in England since the ’80s.

That said, I don’t think the problem ever really went away completely. It might be nowhere near the scale it was years ago, but it’s still there and probably gets brushed under the carpet to some degree to save the image of “the beautiful game”. The only reason it’s back in the headlines and provoking such a huge debate is purely because the violence broke out at an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, with the result that millions around the world witnessed with their own eyes the disgusting behaviour on display inside the stadium.

Firstly, I want to say that I genuinely feel for the vast majority of Millwall fans because they must despise the reputation they have because of the few brainless thugs who go to games for non-footballing reasons.