Rain of Tennis Balls Halts Play as Southend United Fans Protest Chairman

A rain of tennis balls halted play between Southend United and Eastleigh F.C. in Southend-on-Sea, England, on Friday, August 25, as Blues fans protested against the club’s chairman Ron Martin.

Footage recorded by Peter Miles shows fans throwing tennis balls onto the pitch while chanting “We Want Martin Out,” referring to Southend United chairman Ron Martin.

Southend United had recently been docked ten points for the club’s failure to pay its taxes, local media reported, placing them at the bottom of the table with negative points.

Martin was planning to appeal the deduction, the report added.

The tennis ball action during Friday’s match halted play momentarily while the balls were removed from the pitch, local media reported.

The match ended with a 2-0 home victory to Southend United. Credit: Peter Miles via Storyful

Video transcript

[FANS CHANTING, CLAPPING]

- We want Martin out. We want Martin out. We want Martin out. We want Martin out. We want Martin out. We want Martin out. We want Martin out. We want Martin out.