The pitch invasions are back After two years of closed stadiums, fans have returned to reclaim their spaces but there has been no shortage of unpleasant incidents

In chronological order, the latest case happened immediately after the decisive penalty in the challenge to remain in Ligue 1 between Auxerre and Saint-Étienne, with the latter's fans climbing over the reviews and past the stewards entering the field with smoke bombs and iron rods. Anger over relegation after 18 years quickly erupted into acts of violence, with players being forced to take cover in the locker room under dense throwing of flares and various objects. It was a terrible scene that unfortunately has been increasingly common in recent months, with numerous cases of pitch invasions in major European leagues from England to France to even Italy.

But even in England there have been several instances of pitch invasions, often less dramatic than those in France, but which in some cases have degenerated beyond the celebration of victory. During the pitch invasion of Nottingham Forest fans after their team's historic promotion they tried to hit Sheffield United captain Billy Sharp, while in the celebrations at Etihad Stadium for Manchester City's title, Aston Villa goalkeeper Robin Olsen was hit in the back of the head by an unidentified invader. 

Not all pitch invasions, however, are to be stigmatized. In many cases they have signified a return to normalcy and the affection that binds fans to their team, physically expressed through running toward their players without waiting for the referee's whistle first. As was the case at Millwall, whose supporters habitually ran onto the pitch after the last game of the season with stewards doing nothing to prevent it, or the Giallorossi's who invaded an empty Stadio Olimpico during the Conference League final being played in Tirana.

The scenes with fans filling the soccer field with the colors of their scarves and flags reappropriate the sport with its more physical, material, experiential dimension of which the stadium, with all its rituals, uniqueness and contradictions is the perfect synthesis. The important thing is that such demonstrations of passion and enthusiasm are limited to that and do not become a way to dump two years of closures on players and clubs.