Tennis ball protests at football matches and the rules behind them

Definition of the protest

A tennis ball protest is an act of supporter dissent in which spectators throw tennis balls from the stands onto the playing surface, usually in numbers large enough to make the game difficult to continue. The point is not to harm anyone. It is to force players, officials and ground staff to stop while the pitch is cleared, and to put a grievance in front of the broadcast audience.

ESPN reports that Manchester United supporters attempted this form of disruption during the Champions League meeting with AS Roma at Old Trafford on Tuesday. The material available here does not establish the specific grievance, how many balls were thrown, who coordinated the action, how long any interruption lasted or how officials responded. Those details are treated here as unknown.

The tennis ball has practical appeal. It is cheap, light and easy to carry in a coat pocket. Its bright colour shows up against grass and on television, it bounces and rolls away from where it lands, and it is far less likely to cause injury than a coin or a bottle. Protesters can therefore claim a degree of restraint while still creating a real nuisance.

Origins of the tactic

Objects have been thrown onto football pitches for as long as crowds have gathered, but most of that history is hostile, with missiles aimed at opponents or officials. The protest version differs because the object is chosen for its symbolism or relative harmlessness, and the target is the event rather than a person. Supporters of Charlton Athletic and Coventry City, for example, jointly threw plastic pigs onto the pitch when their clubs met, in a demonstration against both ownership groups.

The tennis ball version became best known in Germany. Supporters' groups used it in their campaign against a proposal to bring an outside investor into the German league's media revenues. Balls, chocolate coins and, at some grounds, remote-controlled cars delayed top-flight matches, and the proposal was eventually dropped. How much of that outcome was owed to the protests, and how much to the league's internal politics, remains open to argument. Even so, the episode gave supporters elsewhere a template that is inexpensive, easy to copy and likely to attract coverage.

Manchester United's support has its own tradition of organised protest over how the club is owned and financed. That background does not by itself explain what motivated this particular action.

Rules that apply today

Three layers of rules apply when balls land on a pitch.

The first is the Laws of the Game, written by the International Football Association Board. Law 5 allows the referee to stop, suspend or abandon a match because of outside interference. If an extra ball or other object enters the field, play needs to stop only if it interferes with the game, and the restart is a dropped ball. A scattering of balls near a touchline can be played around; a carpet of them around a penalty area cannot. If a thrown object hits a player or official, the referee judges the response according to severity. Law 7 then allows time lost to be added on, which means a stoppage does not necessarily shorten the match.

The second layer is the competition's own regulations. A Champions League fixture is run by UEFA rather than the Premier League, even when it is played at an English ground. UEFA's disciplinary regulations hold clubs responsible for the conduct of their supporters, including the throwing of objects, whether or not the club itself was at fault. Incidents are reported by match officials and the UEFA delegate, and disciplinary bodies decide what follows. Nothing in the material available indicates whether any such step has been taken in this case. In domestic football, the Football Association's rules place a similar duty of crowd control on English clubs.

The third layer is the law and the ground itself. In England, the Football (Offences) Act makes it an offence to throw an object towards the playing area at a designated match without lawful authority or excuse. Ground regulations add their own conditions of entry, and clubs can act against ticket holders under them. Stewards search supporters on entry, but a tennis ball is small and does not look like a weapon, so prevention is difficult. Clearing the pitch usually falls to stewards, ball retrievers and sometimes the players themselves.

Common misconceptions

The most common error is to assume that any object on the pitch must stop the game. The laws require a stoppage only where the object interferes with play, so the referee has real discretion.

A second is that a soft object makes the act harmless in the eyes of the rules. Injury risk may shape how a referee or disciplinary body views an incident, but the offence and the club's responsibility do not depend on the ball being dangerous. A player can also turn an ankle on a ball underfoot, so the hazard is not imaginary.

A third is that a protest in England falls under Premier League rules. That depends on the competition being played, and a Champions League night sits under UEFA's framework, with English criminal law applying alongside it.

A fourth is that stopping play takes time away from the match and so directly damages the opposition or the broadcaster. Added time can restore much of what is lost. The more durable effect is attention, because the interruption gives cameras and commentators a reason to explain the complaint.

Finally, the act does not reveal its own meaning. A thrown ball shows that some spectators wished to disrupt a game. It does not show how many supporters share the complaint or what they want changed. Banners, statements from supporters' groups and club responses are needed for that.

Further reading for interested readers

The Laws of the Game are published in full by the International Football Association Board, and Laws 5 and 7 are the place to start. UEFA publishes its disciplinary regulations and the regulations for the Champions League. The Football (Offences) Act is available through official UK legislation.

For the supporter side, the Football Supporters' Association covers fan organisation in England, while the remit of the Independent Football Regulator includes how clubs engage with their supporters. ESPN's original report is the starting point for the Old Trafford incident itself.

Frequently asked questions

Why do football fans throw tennis balls onto the pitch?

Supporters use tennis balls because they can interrupt a match with little risk of serious injury. The balls are cheap, easy to carry and highly visible on television. A stoppage forces officials and broadcasters to pay attention, which gives the protesters' complaint a far larger audience than a banner alone might reach.

Can a referee abandon a match because of objects thrown from the crowd?

Yes. Law 5 of the Laws of the Game lets a referee stop, suspend or abandon a match because of outside interference, depending on severity. Abandonment is not automatic, however. An object that does not interfere with play need not stop the game at all, so the decision rests with the referee.

Is it illegal to throw a tennis ball onto a football pitch in England?

It can be. The Football (Offences) Act makes it an offence to throw an object towards the playing area at a designated match without lawful authority or excuse. The law contains no general exception for soft objects. Ground regulations may also allow a club to act against the person responsible.

Can a club be punished if its fans throw objects onto the pitch?

Yes. UEFA's disciplinary regulations make clubs responsible for their supporters' conduct in its competitions, including the throwing of objects, whether or not the club itself was at fault. In English domestic football, Football Association rules place a similar duty on clubs. The outcome of any case depends on the competent disciplinary body.

What happened with tennis balls at Manchester United against Roma?

ESPN reports that Manchester United supporters tried to disrupt a Champions League match against AS Roma at Old Trafford on Tuesday by throwing tennis balls onto the pitch. The summary available does not establish the specific grievance, the number of balls, the length of any interruption or any response from officials.

Sources and further reading

• ESPN: report on the tennis ball protest during the Champions League match at Old Trafford
• International Football Association Board: the Laws of the Game, particularly Laws 5 and 7
• UEFA: disciplinary regulations and Champions League competition regulations
• UK legislation: the Football (Offences) Act, on throwing objects at designated matches