Northern Ireland Fans Assulted in Slovakia

This is more proof that Italy is not the only nation on earth where fans get attacked.

Two fans of the Northern Ireland national team were attacked in Bratislava ahead of their team's qualifier there on Saturday. The gentlemen were attacked by a group of 12 men, it has been reported.

It has also been speculated that their attackers were from a security firm. More police brutality against fans, just like during the Champions League.

This makes me wonder: If UEFA is considering pulling the Champions League Final from Roma if they start trouble this year, would FIFA start to pull teams from qualifying matches if their fans began to injure the visiting fans.

I don't think that FIFA would do so, nor do I think it would work. However, I think it would be a wake-up call to some of these countries where violence reigns supreme and the local authorities are in on it.

If your fans are caught in a violent fight with individuals from another nation, then your team forfeits the result from the game. It would make some of these hooligans stop and think.

It would be a small incentive at best, but if nations started to get kicked out when there was a chance that their team may do well, then the governments will get more involved with the issue.

As we have seen in countries like the Ivory Coast, simply qualifying for the World Cup has brought together groups of people for one common goal. Imagine if your team went out of qualifying because a group of fans wanted to rough up the visiting fans. The local officials would likely crack down on the "this is our house" policy that the fans have.

Could this be one of the baby steps toward slowing down the rate of violence that occurs in football? Possibly. Is it likely to ever be brought up at a meeting of FIFA? Derby have a better chance of winning the Premiership. However, it was a thought that was running through my head, and I thought I would share.