On Saturday, Championship side Nottingham Forest defeated Leicester City 4-1 in the fourth round of the FA Cup. A Leicester City fan invaded the pitch and attacked the Forest players. He has subsequently been banned from attending football games for life, reports ESPN.
The incident of fan violence took place after Forest captain Joe Worrall tripled his side’s lead in the 32nd minute. The 3-0 lead against Leicester came as a massive surprise, especially considering the fact that the game was goalless even 10 minutes before.
Worrall scored in front of the away stand at the City Ground, and he gestured towards the Foxes supporters before reeling away to celebrate with his teammates. As the midfielder continued to celebrate with the rest of the group in front of the home fans, a travelling supporter invaded the pitch and sprinted across the field to throw punches aimed at several Nottingham Forest players.
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The culprit was soon restrained by pitch stewards just a few seconds after the incident took place and police officers arrived on to the scene to haul him away from the action area.
Nottinghamshire police chief inspector Neil Williams later said:
“We have arrested a man in connection with an incident that took place today (Sunday 6 February) during the first half of the Nottingham Forest and Leicester City FA cup match.
Investigations are in the very early stages and our enquiries into the circumstances surrounding the incident are ongoing.”
Meanwhile, a Leicester City spokesman said:
“The Club is appalled by such behaviour and offers its apologies to Nottingham Forest and its players whose safety was compromised”.
Former England and Real Madrid centre-back Jonathan Woodgate seemed disgusted by the incident on BBC Radio 5 Live:
“We applaud the swift action taken by City Ground stewards in apprehending the individual involved, who will be subject to a lifetime ban from all Leicester City fixtures at home and away.
We will offer every support to the relevant authorities in pursuing further appropriate action. That just should not be happening, it is disgusting.”
Meanwhile, former England forward and the Match of the Day host Gary Lineker called the Leicester City fan an ‘embarrassment and a disgrace.’
Chief Inspector Neil Williams, meanwhile, spoke ahead of Sunday’s match.
”While we want everyone who is attending the game to have a great time, it is important that people don’t allow their emotions to get the better of them and spoil the day for others.
As ever, our officers will be on hand to support fans and both clubs to provide an enjoyable day for everyone in attendance, and we will of course take positive action to keep people safe, should any crime or disorder take place.”
Although Leicester and Nottingham share a fierce rivalry, the two sides met for the first time in eight years due to the former’s recent successes.
Although Kelechi Iheanacho pulled one back for Leicester, Djed Spence scored in the second half to make it 4-1 in favour of Forest in front of their own fans. Having knocked out the defending champions from the FA Cup, they will now face Huddersfield in the last 16.
