Beer throwing at Euro 2024 has been a talking point before the tournament even began with many people questioning why the phenomenon had become so popular with England fans in previous tournaments.
However, if there is one thing that Euro 2024 has taught is that beer throwing during goal celebrations is far from just an English craze.
Throughout the tournament, fans have taken advantage of (or wasted depending on your point of view) the option to bring beer into the stands. Whenever goals have gone in, the sight of beer being launched into the air behind the goal has become customary but it reached new levels on Monday night.
BBC commentary team get caught up in beer throwing at Euro 2024
When Luka Modric gave Croatia the lead in the second half of the match, the beer throwing didn't just come from fans behind the goal. In addition to those supporters, fans near the halfway line also started throwing their drinks in the air, something that commentators in the media box got caught up in.
Jonathan Pearce and Danny Murphy were on commentary duty for the BBC in the UK, and during the celebrations, Pearce said: “We're getting absolutely drenched up here. The beer is flying, scarves are flying, Croatia are flying!”
Murphy added: “We're getting soaked, it's like being at the Ally Pally.”
Hooligans from the Croatian side started throwing beer glasses and other objects towards the media box and Italian fans below. Things are getting heated.@dw_sports#CROITA #EURo2024 pic.twitter.com/2QnJNTntWA
— Ronit Borpujari (@RonitBorpujari) June 24, 2024
While the pair seemed to take the incident in good taste, Pearce did highlight earlier in the match concerns about beer throwing due to how many plastic cups are ending up on the pitch. He said:
“Players are experiencing plastic cups being thrown at the pitch and it’s happening more and more. I was speaking to some Germans yesterday and they were saying they won’t let it carry on. They will stop people drinking.”
Could UEFA ban beer throwing at Euro 2024?
While it will be difficult to ban the act of beer throwing itself, it would be very easy for UEFA to simply ban supporters from being able to take beer into the stands or the ability to purchase it inside the stadium, full stop.
For high-risk matches, they have taken extra precautions by serving lower-percentage beers and limiting each supporter to two beers each. This was enforced during England's match against Serbia at the beginning of the tournament and could be a blanket approach taken by UEFA if they consider the beer-throwing and littered plastic on the pitch too much.