How Americans Became Soccer’s Biggest Villains
The two most successful teams in British soccer history face off in Manchester on Thursday. Liverpool versus Manchester United is the biggest rivalry in the Premier League: With the two stadiums just 28 miles apart, each clash between the teams is anticipated for months, and this year was no different, except... they were really supposed to do it last week, until a massive, unprecedented protest caused the match to be postponed.
There have been protests before, but this one was different because the crowd broke into the stadium and invaded the pitch. To a football fan, the pitch is the closest thing to a holy place.
“It’s like the Pope's pulpit,” said Kevin Baxter, a sportswriter for the Los Angeles Times. So, Manchester United fans knew exactly what they were doing when about 200 of them broke into their beloved stadium, Old Trafford, last week and stormed the pitch. They broke barriers and climbed gates while one picked up and threw a camera tripod and others grabbed corner flags, causing the postponement of the much-hyped game against Liverpool, which was due to be played in an empty stadium because of COVID-19 restrictions. By the end, clashes between supporters and police resulted in one man arrested and six officers being injured.