The pitch invasion that marred the match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea will no doubt cause the Football Association to conduct an inquest which will probably result in a huge fine for Spurs.

The incident occurred when the Chelsea players approached the Park Lane end of the ground following their victory in the FA Cup quarter final. Instead of the players heading into the middle of the visiting support John Terry, Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard all headed to the side closest to the Spurs fans. The former made gestures toward the Tottenham Supporters inciting two of them to invade the pitch.

One made it all the way to the players heading back to the tunnel and he appeared to attack Frank Lampard and then Drogba. Another two joined them one Chelsea and one Tottenham, these fans will now face life bans from their respective clubs grounds and probably a football banning order when they appear in court later this week. A tough sentence, for some overly excited fans who would probably learn a lot more from community work or helping their football club.

When the situations were reversed and a player went in to the stands, Eric Cantona Kung-Fu kicked a supporter as he left the pitch at Selhurst Park in 1995. He was given 120 hours community service and fined £20,000 and banned from football for only nine months. Frank Lampard’s assailant did not have the same impact as Cantona yet the punishment he and the other two pitch invaders face is far in excess of that dished out Cantona.

The punishment should be severe, it should fit the crime but most importantly it should show the perpetrator the error of their ways. Banning them from football for a few years or from their home ground will not stop them. Like a junkie looking for a fix they will find a way to get tickets to away games or go to lower league football. Maybe they should be given a court order to work as a steward in the ground to help appreciate the efforts involved in crowd safety. Perhaps they should be made to help coach youngsters, or talk to them about how to behave when attending a football match.