Blackpool match with Huddersfield abandoned after protest
When protesting fans invaded the pitch during Blackpool’s match against Huddersfield at Bloomfield Road, the
game had to be called off.
When hundreds of Blackpool fans rushed onto the pitch in the 55th minute, the players were called down the tunnel.
They protested by holding a sit-down in the middle circle after holding a demonstration against chairman Karl
Oyston in front of the directors’ box.
The match was finally abandoned, long after the other 3pm kick-offs had finished.
As Oyston watched from his position in the West Stand during his already-relegated team’s season-ending match,
fans raised banners against him and let off a flare.
was verified.
The club had temporarily taken down the monument of Blackpool hero Stan Mortensen, who is commemorating the
62nd anniversary of his historic FA Cup final hat-trick. The protesters had apparently intended to begin their
campaign there earlier in the day.
Before kickoff, Blackpool fans continued to demonstrate outside the stadium, and chanting persisted during the
game.
That ill-feeling reached fever pitch when hundreds flooded out of the stands to show their disgust at the reign of
chairman Oyston and owner Owen Oyston.
After flares were let loose, the scene quickly descended into chaos as a supporter on a mobility scooter drove onto the
ground and several fans started a conga.
Blackpool will face a Football Association inquiry and could be punished with a fine or a points deduction.
May 2 had been dubbed ‘Judgement Day’ by fan groups Blackpool Supporters Trust and the Tangerine Knights after
Oyston’s August statement that critics should “judge us at the end of the season”.
A Football League spokesman said: “Following the abandonment of today’s match at Bloomfield Road, it will be for
The Football League will decide whether or not to rerun the game, and the Football Association will evaluate any
issues pertaining to crowd conduct.”
Following protests against Oyston and his family before the draw with Reading earlier this month, when fans threw
eggs at the back of the directors’ boxes and threw a flare and fireworks in front of the main reception in the West
Stand, Saturday’s demonstration is the most recent.
Anger towards the Oyston family has only grown since a match against Burnley was repeatedly stopped last season
due to fans throwing tennis balls and tangerines into the pitch.
“It just compounds an absolutely horrendous season,” Lee Clark, the manager of Blackpool, stated. “The fans were
only acting in response to this season and the relegation’s conclusion.
For a while now, frustration has been mounting. This day is incredibly disappointing.
“I’ll never be critical of them because I feel like a supporter. There has been a very toxic vibe ever since I walked in,
and you can’t succeed with that.
Will there be a replay of the game? Since it’s a unique situation, nobody knows.
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