10 Crazy Fan Moments in World Football History

Footballers love to say how the fans can be the 12th man, how they can be the extra influence on a match from the stands.

The contribution the supporters make can sometimes be the additional factor that helps team get over the line.

Sometimes, however, members of the crowd can make an impact that is either unwelcome or unexpected.

Here are 10 moments in which it was the fans who became the centre of attention.

Scotland Fans Ransack Wembley

Everybody loves to beat the English, and none more than the Scots.

So when Scotland beat England 2-1 in a Home Championship decoder at Wembley in 1977, sending the title north of the border, the Tartan Army's joy could not be confined to the stands.

In the ensuing pitch invasion, thousands ran onto the field, many dug up bits of the hallowed turf to take as a souvenir and, in one of the 1970s' most iconic football images, one fan caused the goal frame to split in two as he climbed onto the crossbar.

Swedish Fans' Silent Protest

You would expect the atmosphere at a derby match anywhere in the world to have a vociferous atmosphere, and usually the Stockholm derby would be no exception.

However, the first 10 minutes of a match between local rivals Djurgarden and AIK last season was played out against the backdrop of complete silence from the 24,000 supporters in the Rasunda stadium.

The fans were taking a stance against what they saw as being demonized by the media and authorities, and exploited by their clubs.

They may have been silent, but they made their point heard.

Doctor at White Hart Lane Helping Revive Muamba

The football world was stunned back in March when Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba collapsed in the middle of the White Hart Lane pitch during an FA Cup tie against Tottenham.

That anguish turned to relief when it was announced that the midfielder had been resuscitated in the hospital. In the outpouring of thanks for those who helped him stay alive, it emerged that one of those who did so was a Spurs fan.

Andrew Deaner was more than that, of course—he also happened to be a consultant cardiologist at the London Chest Hospital. He assisted emergency staff in their immediate treatment of Muamba.

The Career of Jimmy Jump

Jaume Marquet i Cot, as he is known to his mother, has achieved worldwide notoriety for his penchant of invading major sporting events.

The Catalan clown has run onto the pitch during many high-profile football games, including the time he handed a Barcelona shirt to Thierry Henry before the striker had joined the club.

Shortly before the start of the 2010 World Cup final, he sprinted onto the pitch and almost managed to place a hat on the trophy before disappearing underneath a bundle of security guards.

''Jump'' has since branched out into other sports, and even crashed Spain's performance at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, so at least his antics are not just a nuisance for the football authorities.

Everton Fan Handcuffs Himself to Post

Everton's 1-0 win over big-spending title contenders Manchester City back in February would have been remarkable enough on its own, but one fan inside Goodison Park made the match even more memorable.

Five minutes before the end of the first half, local man John Foley ran onto the pitch and, before anyone could stop him, handcuffed himself to one of the goalposts.

Foley was protesting against his daughter's unfair dismissal from low-cost airline Ryanair and managed to halt proceedings for about five minutes before his bonds were removed with bolt-cutters.

Fans Star in First Wembley Final

Wembley Stadium has been the traditional home of the FA Cup final since 1923, when the showpiece between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United was the first match played there.

The game has come to be known as the White Horse Final, but those among the estimated 300,000 spectators inside the ground who were immediately surrounding the pitch also made their mark on the game.

Players became engulfed in the hordes around the edge of the pitch, and play had to be stopped when the throngs could not be contained and spilled onto the pitch.

Bolton's second goal of their 2-0 win was awarded despite West Ham insisting that the shot had rebounded off the post. The referee judged it to have rebounded off a spectator instead.

Magdeburg Fans Know Where the Goal Is

Recent years have seen a significant rise in both the quality and quantity of pieces of fan choreography at football matches.

Every England match at Wembley is preceded by the home fans at either end of the pitch holding up coloured cards to display two giant St George flags.

The most recent Milan derby saw fans of AC and Inter display huge banners goading the other side that took up most of the space behind the goals, and Borussia Dortmund supporters unveiling a huge skull before kick-off provided a suitably intimidating atmosphere.

On a far smaller scale but much more humorous, however, was the fans of German fourth division side FC Magdeburg, who succeeded in ending the team's five-match goal drought by bringing large fluorescent arrows to the ground to show their team where the goal was.

Pig's Head for Luis Figo

When the intensity of a fixture becomes just too much for some people in the crowd, be it due to the rivalry between the teams on the field, hatred for a particular player or just one too many pre-match aperitifs, objects can get thrown onto the pitch.

Surely the most famous and infamous missile ever thrown onto the field of play was that which was hurled from the crowd during Real Madrid's 0-0 draw at Barcelona in 2002.

One home fan at the Nou Camp, fed up with seeing former Barca hero Luis Figo playing in the white of Real, decided to express his ire the only way he knew how—by throwing a pig's head onto the field as the Portuguese prepared to take a corner.

Such a comical missile serves to obscure the seriousness of other things such as whiskey bottles being aimed at the former World Player of the Year. But seriously, a pig's head? Incredible.

Sepp Blatter Feels British Wrath

London 2012 was hailed as an enormous success in part because of the joyously warm welcome the British public gave the world during the Games. Everyone received it, it seems, except for one man.

At the women's football final at Wembley, FIFA president Sepp Blatter—the man who once said that female footballers should wear tighter shorts if they wanted to make themselves more marketable—was booed by the 80,000-strong crowd, which was a record for a women's Olympic football game.

There was even a sign in the crowd which called Blatter "The Swiss Family's Robbing Son," a great bit of word play which summed up how the British public feels about the most powerful man in football.

Enckelman Gets Brum Deal

In 2002, Birmingham City's promotion to the Premier League meant their home clash against Aston Villa was the first Second City Derby in almost two decades.

The defining moment of that 3-0 home win was Villa keeper Peter Enckelman letting Olof Mellberg's throw-in roll under his boot and into the net. The rules may state that a goal cannot be scored straight from a throw, but no one thought about that at the time and the officials gave the goal.

Fans running onto the pitch during a game is not condoned around these parts, but the Birmingham fan who entered the St Andrew's field of play to mock and goad Enckelman compounded the Finnish keeper's pain in cruelly vivid fashion and made many of the next morning's back pages.