BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND – JANUARY 04: A Blackpool fan displays a message for Chairman Karl Oyston during the FA Cup Third Round match between Aston Villa and Blackpool at Villa Park on January 4, 2015 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

Blackpool fans invade pitch in protest, match postponed

The Championship regular season ended and while people are looking at the top of the table, some eyes are on the bottom of the table as Blackpool fans invaded the pitch to participate in a protest against current owner Karl Oyston, who led the team to finish 21 points in the relegation zone.

This protest seemed like a long time coming. If you really want to feel disgusted at someone and feel horrible for Blackpool’s fans for going through this, check out Oyston’s Wikipedia page. There’s so much there but I’ll only highlight what has happened this season.

– Before this season started, Blackpool didn’t have enough players to fill an 11 player starting squad. The rest of the team, including the starting goalkeeper was filled with trialists.

– In December, Oyston got into an argument via text with a Blackpool fan where he called the fan a “retard” and to “enjoy the rest of your special needs day out.” Oyston was eventually charged by the FA.

– A month later, amid growing threats of protest by fans, Oyston bought a Range Rover with the license plate “OY51 OUT” in order to openly mock fans.

– Throughout the year, the Oyston family has filed lawsuits and threatened legal action against Blackpool fans who they feel make untrue statements against the family.

– Coming up on the 62nd anniversary of legend Stan Mortensen’s hat trick to win the 1953 FA Cup Final, Oyston took down the statue of Mortensen this past Tuesday thinking that fans would begin protests at the statue today. The statue is currently in a shed in the stadium and there are rumors that the statue got damaged in the move.

Some said that the statue was the final straw and led to the pitch invasion today. A group of about 2,000 Blackpool fans walked out as the second half started and began protesting in the middle circle. The referee stopped play and according to the BBC, after about an hour of protesting, the referee postponed the game indefinitely. That led to these scenes.

Today’s protest was the crescendo of everything that has been going on with the team. We know there are horrible owners in the soccer world. We even talked about one today. Through it all, Karl Oynston and to an extension, the Oynston family, may take the prize as worst owners in soccer. That says a lot. Hopefully Blackpool fans can see better days and they can see the team come back to the greatness it once had.

About Phillip Bupp

Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @phillipbupp

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