The shameful scenes which unfolded shortly after full-time at Tannadice on Saturday afternoon should be a watershed moment for Scottish football. The fact it’s actually taken blood to be shed in order to arrive at this juncture is nothing short of an embarrassment.
The sight of Jack MacKenzie sprawled out on the deck having been struck on the head by a broken seat launched by one of his own fans — yes, you read that correctly — has left everyone with even a fleeting interest in our national game stunned.
Yet it’s hard to work out why. We all knew something like this was coming sooner rather than later. The warning signs have been there. The problem is that those in positions of authority have been all too happy to ignore them.
Turns out the ‘sweep it under the carpet and hope for the best’ approach when it comes to dealing with supporters who cross the divide into a world of thuggery isn’t foolproof after all. Who’d have thought it? Unfortunately, MacKenzie has paid the price.
Look, we can safely assume that he wasn’t the intended target. No, that would have been any one of countless Dundee United fans who’d congregated under the away stand to rub their rivals’ noses in it having watched their side snatch fourth spot at the Dons’ expense.
And yes, while the celebrations could have been lapped up from afar rather than from 100 feet away, they didn’t warrant anything like the sort of retaliation carried out in response.
Aberdeen defender Jack MacKenzie is felled by a chair thrown from the away end at Tannadice
MacKenzie received treatment after the missile struck him during a pitch invasion at full-time
The coward responsible shouldn’t be allowed to set foot in a stadium in this country again, and that will be the least of their worries when a custodial sentence likely comes their way too.
It’s now up to the powers that be to ensure this is the line in the sand.
Just this month, Mail Sport’s Calum Crowe made the argument that strict liability should, at the very least, be up for discussion after Celtic keeper Viljami Sinisalo was subjected to missiles hurled on to the pitch by Rangers fans behind the goal during the latest Old Firm clash.
He wrote: ‘What if the Buckfast bottle thrown last Sunday had actually struck him and split his head open? What then?
‘Make no mistake, it will happen eventually. Is that what we’re waiting for? Just twiddling our thumbs until disaster strikes?’
Well here we are.
As he alluded to in that piece, the mere mention of strict liability sends shivers down the spines of the game’s biggest shareholders. ‘Unrealistic and unworkable’, so they say.
It doesn’t take a genius to understand why clubs have been so keen to boot the notion of government involvement into touch ever since Holyrood first threatened to hold them accountable back in 2016. Why should the collective be punished for the senseless behaviour of one or two morons?
The issue is, incidents like the one on Saturday are no longer occurring once in a blue moon. They are becoming the norm.
Indeed Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin has now fielded questions on unruly Aberdeen fan behaviour twice within five months after spending the closing stages of December’s fixture between the pair ducking and diving bottles and coins being hurled from behind the dugout.
And for the second time in five months, he has called for action.
Celtic’s Arne Engels was struck by a coin earlier this season. Rangers players had to put up with the same nonsense as they celebrated Hamza Igamane’s late winner on their last visit to Parkhead.
It wasn’t too long ago that Joe Hart was retrieving glass shards from his goalmouth. A Rangers supporter was jailed after hitting Celtic physio Danny Friel with a bottle. James Tavernier can’t even take a corner these days without watching missiles fly past his ears.
Lawrence Shankland and Emi Marcondes were both singled out by opposition supporters in recent Edinburgh derbies too. The list goes on and on.
We’re dangerously close to the point where fans will be banned from travelling to away grounds. It may be seen as a drastic measure on these shores, but it’s common practice across the continent.
In fact, just last night, AC Milan fans were denied entry to the Stadio Olimpico in the Italian capital for their Serie A showdown against Roma following fan unrest in the wake of their Coppa Italia loss to Bologna at the same stadium on Wednesday evening.
To quote Jock Stein, football without fans is nothing. They are the lifeblood of the Scottish game. Removing visiting supporters from the equation entirely isn’t something anyone wants to see but that’s the reality we’re facing.
We’ve long lamented the raw deal Scotland gets from the broadcasters. Empty stands every other week at the country’s biggest arenas is hardly going to make our product any more attractive. It’s hard enough as it is.
As for allowing alcohol back in the stadiums? Don’t be daft.
The Aberdeen defender was fortunate that the shocking incident did not cost him his sight
Putting supporters behind steel fences or nets is another grim, but increasingly reasonable option. Behave like caged animals, get treated like caged animals. Another ugly look though.
UEFA haven’t been shy in dishing out heavy fines to both halves of the Old Firm this season. Truthfully, that type of sanction isn’t enough of a deterrent when it comes to the average punter.
Perhaps the threat of a points deduction would do the trick. Extreme? Yes, but you’d have to assume that even those with half a brain intent on causing bother would think twice if that were on the table. It should be.
Ponder the thought of seeing your club miss out on silverware, a spot in Europe, or even facing up to relegation due to docked points.
Fans — the vast majority of whom just want to enjoy watching their team alongside friends and family — wouldn’t be the only ones to suffer the consequences of that. Players, managers, and loyal club staff working behind the scenes would be hit hardest.
Therein lies the glaring issue. Fairness goes out the window when it comes to this stuff.
But like it or lump it, something has to give. The status quo is unacceptable.
Aberdeen should be knocking their heads together with every other club — not to mention the SPFL and SFA — to find a suitable solution. It’s a matter of urgency.
If they’re unwilling to do so, there can be no complaints when things are taken out of their hands.
Inaction has brought us to this point. It almost cost Jack MacKenzie his sight.
Next time — and let’s be honest, there will be a next time — the victim might not be so lucky. What a sobering thought to end the season.
