Brunt 'ashamed' of WBA fans after hit by coin

LONDON (Reuters) - West Bromwich Albion's Chris Brunt said he was "ashamed" of his club's supporters after being struck under the eye by a coin thrown by a fan after their surprise 3-1 defeat at Reading in the FA Cup on Saturday.

Brunt 'ashamed' of WBA fans after hit by coin

(Reuters)





The FA will launch an investigation into that incident and scenes of crowd disturbances in the away section.

"We strongly condemn any such behaviour and will work with both clubs and the authorities to identify those responsible," the FA said on its website (www.thefa.com).

Reading, 16th in the Championship, hit back with goals from Paul McShane, Michael Hector and Lucas Piazon after visiting Albion, 14th in the Premier League, had taken the lead in the fifth-round tie through captain Darren Fletcher.

After the final whistle midfielder Brunt, an Albion stalwart, went to hand his shirt to a young supporter and was struck by a coin thrown from the area housing West Brom fans, suffering a cut just underneath his left eye.

Fans then started to scuffle among themselves as stewards intervened.

"Our supporters obviously think it's okay to throw coins at their own players. It's absolutely disgusting," Northern Ireland international Brunt told BBC Sport. "I am ashamed of them today.

"If people come to matches and think it is acceptable to throw coins at footballers or anyone else, it is disgusting.

"If they want to come forward and say they don't like what they've seen then that's fine. Fans are frustrated, we were 1-0 up and lost.

"They paid a lot of money to come, but a small minority spoilt it. There were young kids there. I was absolutely disgusted and ashamed."

West Brom manager Tony Pulis was equally appalled.

"We have seen an incident today where a lad who has played over 300 games for this club could have had his eye out. That is not acceptable. I hope the police get involved, never mind the club. That is criminal," he said.

"People have a drink before the game and you have incidents like this. This is one of the worst things I've seen, a coin thrown at him by one of his own supporters."





(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Ian Chadband)


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: Reuters



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world