Clearly, this is another example of someone high on marijuana exhibiting typical pot head behavior </sarcasm>

that's good :-)

I completely approve of the goalie, and that his team walked off the field. You have a moron assault you and you defend yourself, earning you a red card. Sure, the ref might have been doing his job, but you just don't put up with some s**t

If you look closely at those kicks they are a bit like Hollywood kicks. Probably trying to save face in front of 50,000 fans. I say this because, a goal keeper at that level kicking a person at anywhere near full force, the guy ccould have died from internal injuries. Just sayin'.

Although I am glad the goolie kicked that moron, you are not defending yourself when you are kicking someone who is on the floor. He earned the red card right after the first kick on the floor. Had the guy been standing that would've been diferent.

Sorry Iphonedude..you don't think about that when someone you don't know runs onto a field you're supposed to be safe on and comes close to attacking you. How do you know the guy doesn't have a knife or gun. How do you know he won't get up and try to attack again. You're comment is an easy backseat driver type comment you make from the safety of your home. The guy is lucky the goalie didn't try to hurt him more. Maybe the future idiots of the world who storm the field will think twice.

You're right, Iphonedude.

Kick him once to put him down. And then throw punches like a man.

meh... doesn't suprise me that soccer dudes kick people when they are down. soccer players are generally skirts anyways, ya they have powerful legs, but when push comes to shove i bet he throws punches like a little pussy-cat. goalie would get pounded down in a real fight.

Well said, Brendan.

@ gunslibertylife

Yeah, keep marijuana illegal.

Despite the guy being drunk. Make alcoholic beverages illegal ?

Fritter, I agree if he were really to kick him he would have killed him. It was not a hollywood scene, the goalie was just nice enough to aim for the legs. It was more of a warning than a beat down.

Al718 and gunslibertylife - try reading before spouting - your prejudices are showing - he was drunk like alcohol.

Al - sorry I stand accused of my own complaint - missed the sarcasm tag.

Actually, I think if you are a soccer player, not throwing kicks WOULD be stupid. I mean, really, what is going to hurt your enemy more when you kick stuff all day long and don't use your arms for anything but catch balls?

By the way, it is always entertaining to poke fun at soccer players, but to brendan and anyone who doesn't know what pro soccer players do, you won't be saying it to their face. Or, in fact, may I invite you to go to England sometime, out of the public view, and give a try. You may find some rather punishing results on your part.

Perhaps if the security wasnt so inept, this goalie wouldnt have had to do this.

I applaud the team for walking off the field.

But clearly, as others pointed out...this guy had REEFER MADNESS!!!!

If only the guy had been drinking booze, he would have been so mellow he never could have done this

Wow, think there should be a minimum age for this forum! Really? Skirt...punch like a man? Men don't punch, fighting is a child's behavior when they cannot cope. Soldiers, police and people who have had to fight for protection will tell you, anything goes. There is no bell.

That being said, the goalie had a right to defend himself and ensure that the attacker could not pursue him again. If kicking is his best tool, then use it. In actual fighting for defense, there is no right or wrong, just what is effective.

What kind of message have the refs sent to the public? Come on down! It is safe on the field! We will protect you! If you trespass onto a sports field, you get what you deserve.

He should have "mistaken" the guys nuts for the soccer ball and taught this a-hole a lesson. Sports fans in general are out of control these days - attacking players, attacking the other team's fans, hell attacking anybody who happens to be close by. It is past time that the fans be reigned in and that fan violence be met with stiff criminal penalties. The players should not have to worry about being attacked on the field by some drunk moron and the peaceful fans should not have to worry about being attacked by a fan for the opposing team who is drunk and upset because his team lost.

Will-128, did you read fully read my posting? while the guy is on the floor covering like a little girl, kicking him is not defending yourself unless he's standing up or at least trying to stand up... the moron on the floor wasn't doing neither... and some of your comments seem silly to me, I know about fighting since I had over 60 amateur boxing fights... i know what to be with the addrenaline rush is all about... not to metioned that i have talked myself out of situations where I've been threaten with gun or knifes... I wish you've grown up where i did, you'll learn how to handle such situations and your impulses...

btone and brendan-

only thing you've ever punched is the enter button on your keyboard...

if it wasn't broken up, he might started pulling his hair too

Re: Al718 - the marijuana conspiracy nut!

Clearly, you are an idiot… and have NO idea what you are talking about. It the kid saw stoned the only thing he would of attacked is a large bag of chocolate chip cookies or a Dutch Apple Strudel Pie.

Right on Al!!!!! You rock!

Reminds me of what Mike Curtis of the Baltimore Colts did to a "fan" that came on the field. Too bad the goalie didn't really land a couple of good kicks to the jerks head. Since pot has been legalised in The Netherlands alcohol has become the problem. The young there drink like Russians on a potato farm. The ref should not have penalized the goalie. The coach did the right thing and pulled his team. Your there to watch the game not get involved on the field. He was lucky he only got a couple of kicks. Mike Milbury would have beat him with his own shoe!

They will try anything to get Americans to watch soccer.

doyourhomework.. Nice one! And Jessica... If you smoked pot or knew anyone who did , you'd know that if he had been smoking he'd have kept his ass in his seat. When you're high the last thing you want to do is run around like a nutcase. Maybe he was all coked up... That would be a better analogy. Man you ainti-pot people are so f'ing misinformed its depressing.

Al718 and gunslibertylife

you both are complete teabagging morons

weed sedates people, relaxes them emotionally, defuses aggression

the behavior you are witnessing is the culprit of none other that Booze

your comments are yet more of fear-based lies which the teabagging republicans prey on

Some of you seem to have a hard time understanding sarcasm, even when Al718 writes "/sarcasm" at the end of his post. Jessica was also obviously being sarcastic. Do we need a ref for this thread?

Soccer goalie kicks fan in Netherlands

Man, I hate getting kicked in the "Netherlands."

Stoned people often miss /sarcasm tags.

More on point, if someone ran up behind me like that, and I were a professional kicker, I'd take out his knee to make sure he stayed put for police. Soccer players don't use their hands; it's a penalty.

And I've seen plenty of fools run out onto football fields in the US. They are just lucky a tackle doesn't meet them instead of security.

@Dexter and How is this news

You both fail at reading comprehension.. even a "sarcasm" tag couldn't save you from, well, yourself.. and you have the nerves to label me lol.. too funny if you guys werent such lames

Or, in fact, may I invite you to go to England sometime, out of the public view, and give a try. You may find some rather punishing results on your part.

Derek,

Seriously, the only thing less imposing than a soccer player is an English soccer player. Somehow, narrow shouldered, buckteethed sissies don't frighten me.

Do your homework America,

Even if that were true, the enter button on my keyboard is still tougher than a British soccer player. Or a Brit of any kind.

LOL! Once again, you mak me laugh.

Your feminine giggles are repulsive to me.

Lol, no, appearantly they call it 'the netherlands' these days.

(according to the Today show video, "Soccer goalie kicks unruly fan in the netherlands")

The goalie should have kicked him in the "Nuts"!

It's a hard and fast rule in the referees handbook. Any violent action, punch, kick, spit, etc., towards anyone, not just another player on the field, is a red card. Had he simply tripped him, he gets away with it probably; I doubt the ref cards him for that. But any player at that level HAS to know where the line is.

Certainly a rule that needs to be changed. The goalie should have every right to defend himself.

Remember that brawl in the NBA a few years back in a Pistons-Pacers match? I remember Jermaine O'Neal getting something like a 15 match penalty for defending himself. Same @!$%#.

Please....he didn't just defend himself. He kicked him after the guy was down. It's not like he had to worry about the guy getting up and going after him again....there were plenty of other players and security to keep the guy under control.

Certainly a rule that needs to be changed. The goalie should have every right to defend himself.

He did defend himself in the first trip, but then the roles reversed with the fan on the ground with his arms in a shielding position and the goalkeeper kicking him.

Ergo, red card.

But he didnt just defend himself. Watch the video. He kicked the guy AFTER he was down too and only stopped when security ran up. That's beyond self defense and he was right to be carded.

Ref did his job, but the cops didn't. Besides, the ref is a human, right? A computer isn't doing the job, right? Since someone with brain cells (supposedly) has the card, maybe they should actually use their head before they come to a final decision. Personally, I think the ref should have called the game instead of the team walking off the field. It should be logged as a non game, and sue the assaulter for the costs to reimburs the fans tickets. That should break him nice and good for the rest of his life.

That's where the point of contention is, impatient girl; I agree with you entirely, although (from a "I'd defend myself too" point of view), I can't entirely blame the keeper.

While I may not blame him for his reaction, which is a fairly natural reaction probably, I also don't condone the reaction and I think he needed to be punished. Natural reaction and proper reaction on the pitch are two different things. Yes, people lose their tempers, but there's not an excuse to me for kicking him while down twice, especially given that security was there quickly.

It may be a natural and understandable reaction, but you are still subject to the rules of the game.

Everyone who says you wouldn't have done what the goalie did, or he should have stopped are idiots. In the heat of the moment you get attacked adn then you don't think about what is allowable and not allowable. You think about what you need to do to make sure the guy doesn't get up again, and your adrenaline is pumping. Perhaps this idiotic rule is also why Refs get attacked and none of the players help them. Sorry Ref, I don't want a red card. Idiotic.

And comparing this to Jermaine Oneal is also idiotic. Those players ran into the stands. The fans didn't run onto the court. Please try to have some intelligent thought before you type.

The point of the kicks were to make sure he STAYED down until the security got to him. If all he had done was trip him, do you honestly think the guy wouldn't have gotten back up and gone after him again?

How can a penalty be issued in this bizarre situation? There can't be anything in the soccer rules to address this type of thing.

Once thew fan was dragged off, they should have finished the game.

Once the 'fan/drunken fool' was dragged off they should have played the game out for the fans to watch the show - but recorded it as a forfiet for thehome team.

Davianed - one point you might consider is that there have been lots of racist attacks on soccer players lately, so the goalie really had no way of knowing what might have been coming next. In such situations, and with what's been happening, this is really a situation where the goalie could only react in self-preservation mode.

I agree that the call was botched. There comes a point where common sense and the safety of the players has to be the consideration. I agree with btone, to use a standard penaly in a bizarre situation does not make sense. He tripped the intruder and then made sure that the intruder could make another attempt to attack him. There was no way he could have known to what extent this intruder would have gone in this situation.

The ref was completely in the right for following the laws of the game.

Under Law #12 - Fouls and Misconduct:

"The red card is used to communicate that a player, substitute or substituted
player has been sent off.
Only a player, substitute or substituted player may be shown the red or yellow
card.
The referee has the authority to take disciplinary sanctions from the moment
he enters the field of play until he leaves the field of play after the final whistle.
A player who commits a cautionable or sending-off offence, either on or off
the field of play, whether directed towards an opponent, a team-mate, the
referee, an assistant referee or any other person, is disciplined according to the
nature of the offence committed.

.....

A player, substitute or substituted player is sent off if he commits any of the
following seven offences:
• serious foul play
• violent conduct
...."

According to the rules of the game, when the keeper started to kick the fan when he was on the ground, he had committed an offense that was worthy of getting a red card and sent off the field.

Had he backed away or simply restrained the fan down on the field without throwing any punches or kicks, he would have been allowed to continue.

No one has any right to blame the ref. He did his job perfectly.

NFIL - That is true, and I will admit - that's not something I've ever been in a position to understand, so I will admit that I don't know what was going through his head. You could be, and probably are, spot on that it had an effect.

What I disagree on, however, is that when the fan was on the ground, the goalie was no longer protecting himself. Had he (as Kman stated) restrained the fan or backed away, I would put him within those bounds. When he began kicking the fan on the ground, I see it as an act of aggression. It may be an understandable one given human tempers, but I still see it as changing from defense to aggression.

@Kman - thank you for the rules quote. I've been out of reffing a couple of years and didnt have my rule book.

If the goalie was going to get a red card anyway for it, he should have gone for the gusto and kicked the snot out of the guy. That being said, security needs to do a better job at these matches and keep fans off the field. I guess in the future players will just stand there and let the fans do whatever they want until security manages to get over and take care of the situation. Not sure about Europe, in the US the result is the player suing the team, the league, the security team, the security members, and the fan.

In my personal opinion, in a case like this, the red card should be given for NOT kicking the rogue fan's ass. "He's still standing, red card!"

Some folks deserve, and need, a good ass kicking. Both rowdy fans and players. I recall Nolan Ryan putting the hurt on Robin Ventura---ol' Robin got a couple of knuckle sandwiches!

The action of a "fan" could have started a riot as well. The goalie just made sure the attacker wuldn't get up and no longer be a threat :).

And which team has to be "severely sanctioned" - you sound like UN:))))

Agreed entirely; tripping the guy to defend himself is one thing (completely fair game to me), but after that, it turned into pure lunacy, both from the goalie and the coach.

Don't know about sanctions, though, beyond the coach and the goalie; the goalie the harshest for kicking the guy twice, the coach probably a wrist slap for pulling his players off the field in protest. I think he was an idiot for doing it, but it's a fairly common form of protest, so I don't think he deserves more than a wrist slap (if anything).

I disagree. The threat isn't neutralized until the forces come in. The guy on the ground was still kicking. If the goalie stopped, he may have gotten up and kept fighting. If the fan had a knife or a gun, the opinions of the people on here would be different and certainly not poking fun at the situation. The goalie had a right to protect himself at all costs. If a guy comes into my home, I'll be damned if I stop defending myself if he's still resisting. When the police arrive, they can take over, but until that time, I'll never stop until I'm sure he can't do anything to me.

Hopefully he sent a message to any other idiot who's thinking of jumping on the field and attacking a player. If I were that goalie, I wouldn't have stopped kicking until he he stopped moving. He never should've gotten a red card.

I posted the same rough reply below, but I'll repost the basics of it here:

1) A gun or knife is an entirely different situation. A) I'd imagine that security is checking for these things at the game (not saying he couldn't slip past, but as drunk as he was?) and B) He would've had the gun or knife in his hand when charging, not just once he realized how boned he was by the keeper.

2) It was 2 seconds between the goalie tripping him and when security tackled him. Yes, the guy was kicking at the keeper, and no, I don't blame the keeper for being pissed, but he still kicked at him, twice. He could have EASILY backed off in those two seconds and let security come in, and there's no way the keeper DIDNT have a view based off where he was facing and where the security came from.

So yes, if the guy had a gun or knife - that's ENTIRELY different. But this wasn't his home, the guy had no weapon on display, and there was VERY little time between when the guy got tripped and when security got there.

I don't blame the keeper for being pissed, and I don't blame him for some level of defense of himself, but I do hold him responsible for going overboard. There's an expected level of conduct on the pitch; he didn't follow it.

1) A gun or knife is an entirely different situation. A) I'd imagine that security is checking for these things at the game (not saying he couldn't slip past, but as drunk as he was?) and B) He would've had the gun or knife in his hand when charging, not just once he realized how boned he was by the keeper.

Nonsense. This is the type of assumption you'd make as an arm-chair spectator. When it's you on the field and the price of being "wrong" about the level of threat your attacker poses is a loss of your life or a seriously debilitating injury, you may find that you are moved to act rapidly and forcefully in the manner illustrated in the video.

He could have EASILY backed off in those two seconds and let security come in, and there's no way the keeper DIDNT have a view based off where he was facing and where the security came from.

Again, another naive, arm-chair speculation. Look closely at Esteban's eyes. He's focused ONLY on one thing: the guy attacking him. Even if his peripheral vision managed to catch those coming to his aid, I doubt his brain had enough room to process that while he was focused on neutralizing the threat against him.

The referee made a technically correct call, but it was a stupid one given the circumstances. As a referee, your job is to be fair but at the same time you have some discretion in how you exercise your power. If he didn't give the keeper a red card and just warned him, he wouldn't have lost his job over that and the game would've continued. The referee is a moron incapable of independent thought.

For one, your condescension is impressive there chief. Particularly in lieu of having 1) played soccer for 15 years, 2) refereed 8, and 3) been attacked, twice, on the pitch. And no, it wasn't that level, so maybe I'm making some assumptions, but having been to major sporting events, I'm placing a degree of faith in their security.

When I was attacked the first time, I was a 16 year old getting rushed by a parent for throwing his kid out of the game. The kid had repeatedly been slide tackling into the back of people's legs, didn't stop, so I tossed him. You know what it feels like to be rushed by someone more than twice your age as a kid? I'll admit I was lucky - the guy was enraged enough that I just repeatedly stepped out of the way because he wasn't clearheaded, and some of the other parents (for his own team, actually) pinned him while the cops were called. They saw him running and were right behind him.

So if you want to call me an arm-chair spectator, you can stick your condescension. My event may not have been on the stage his was, but I would argue it's equally as frightening.

I'll give you that on Esteban's eyes - I went back and watched again, and you're right. That said, and I DO understand the level of rage, and I don't blame him for an ENTIRELY natural reaction, he is a PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE. EVERY professional sport expects a level of conduct from their players, and holds them to it. Is it an extreme circumstance? Absolutely. I won't even remotely argue that point. However, no matter how enraged he may have been, that level of conduct is expected, at all times, of an athlete. There came a point, to me - and yes, this is ENTIRELY my own opinion, from my experience, my watching the clip, and my background - when the player crossed the threshold of simply defending himself into an act of aggression.

I am NOT, by any means - and you can check every other post I've made in this thread - condoning the fan. He was an idiot who deserves to be hit with every penalty he can for his action. I am also not condemning the goalkeeper for defending himself.

However, actually - the referee quite possibly COULD have lost his job for not giving a red card. The level of oversight that is put on referees at that stage is incredibly intense; every game is scrutinized, and referees are frequently one mistake away from demotion based on FIFA's processes. From his view, he saw a player initially defend himself, THEN become the aggressor at the moment the person was on the ground. There was a transition point that was key to this entire process, and THAT is what the referee red carded him for.

Whether or not you find it fair that players are expected to exercise the level of judgement between defense and aggression is entirely your opinion, but it is common to nearly every major sport in the world (except maybe hockey). However, I guarantee the referee thought through the situation, and will be rethinking the situation for quite a while. He made his opinion, which I do agree on, that the goalie went from defender to aggressor in a manner that called for a red card.

Referees get fried by media and fans, but the level of pressure you are under is intense. Very few who have not been in a referee's position will understand the split second nature of the calls that you have to make.

I completely disagree. The fan was continuing to fight back even from a position on his back. Until the forces come in, you keep kicking if he's kicking because you don't know if he's going to get back up. The red is completely ludicrous. You can't defend yourself if someone comes onto the pitch? What if he had a knife of a gun? Let him shoot you to avoid a red? The official was a total jacka**.

Ok, couple of things:

1) Where did I say he couldn't defend himself? I don't blame the goalie for tripping him and I don't think he should be carded for that; I support him entirely on that.

However, if you look, it is 2 seconds between the time he trips the fan and the time security is on top of him. Two seconds. You're telling me the goalie couldn't have tripped him, backed out, and given security time to get there? For that drunk dumbass fan (and I'm not supporting him in any way - dude was a toolbag), that's how long it was going to take him to stand up.

2) Seriously, a gun or knife? Wow, you escalated that fast, in addition to the fact that I'm about 99% sure the gun or knife would have already been IN HIS HANDS when the guy charged the goalkeeper. If he had a weapon, he wouldn't have pulled it after getting tripped; he would have pulled it when charging.

Well, I think that's where we will have to disagree. If I'm the goalie, and I see that the guy is still resisting, I'm kicking for all I'm worth until the security arrives. The fan was not helpless after he landed on the ground.

Regarding the knife or gun, I'm just saying that if he had attacked with a knife or gun to begin with, the goalie would be wounded or dead and people wouldn't be making a joke out of this.

Fair enough... My point of view does come entirely from having refereed for 8 years, and played (admittedly not on that level, for sure) for about 15. So, my point of view colors that entirely. I'll acknowledge that for sure; I just expect a certain level of conduct.

If it was a knife or gun: as I stated before, at that point all bets are off. I don't care if the goalie breaks him in half at that point; if you brandish a weapon at someone, you take the full punishment. We agree entirely on that point.

I just feel that the knife or gun statement, because of A) hopefully stadium security and B) the fact that he wasn't wielding one, isn't applicable in this case. I see your point, I just disagree.

Yes, kicking him twice. In a stadium (in Europe) filled with about 40 to 100 thousand fans and one of those fans runs onto the field directly towards a player. Yeah, you kick him! What if that man who attacked Monica Seles had really stabbed her in the "right" spot? Come on, use your head, man!

@ckuesper

Look hard enough and I'm sure you'll find a frivolous law suit where that has occurred in this day in age...

234r, believe me, he's feeling it and I don't mean the hangover.

a professional goalie could probably rip your head off with a good kick...

he could probably rip your head off with a good kick

I thought only monkeys could grip things with their feet! Goal keepers can too! You learn something new everyday!

Now that's funny!!!!!!

Yeah, we're so superior to those prissy Europeans, right?

http://www.legalzoom.com/lawsuits-settlements/personal-injury/top-ten-frivolous-lawsuits

Then again, maybe not...

I have a very simple outlook. If you attack me, I will beat, punch and/or kick you until you no longer can do so. Period. If that results in serious injury to the moron, too bad. If it results in his death, again, too bad.

karlmarx- we were when it counted (1776)...

Wow, historical dates to show that the colonial underdogs could declare their independence from the greatest empire at the time.

I guess if you'd like to go historical, then the Vietnamese in 1973 know exactly how the colonials felt...

I seem to remember when a drunken fan kind of fell into a penalty box that was occupied at the time, can't remember who was there. Needless to say the player, who that fan was verbaly abusing second before, took the oportunaty to intruduce the moron to his fists. I think the player got ejected from the game, but at least he made sure to get full measure of satisfatction. If the player leaves the field/ ice to go after the fan the player is in the wrong. But if a fan intrudes into what is clearly players space than the player has absolute right to teach the, usually, drunken moron a lesson he wont soon forget.