Friday 20 May 2022 11:31 AM Nottingham Forest v Sheffield United: Man, 25, arrested and questioned after ... trends now

Police have arrested a man on suspicion of assault after a video appeared to show Sheffield United footballer Oli McBurnie stamping on a Nottingham Forest fan during a pitch invasion following the play-off semi-final.

The development comes as more fan violence broke out in a series of pitch invasions at matches last night - with Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira was seen kicking an Everton fan who repeatedly taunted him, and Swindon Town players were attacked by Port Vale supporters celebrating their play-off semi-final victory on penalties.

The incident involved McBurnie occurred when supporters invaded the pitch at the City Ground after Forest had beaten the Blades on penalties in the second leg of Tuesday night's Sky Bet Championship play-off semi-final. 

A video circulating on Twitter showed McBurnie, sidelined through injury, tangling with a supporter who had fallen to the ground. Forest fans had poured onto the pitch at the time in celebration after their side's win secured.

Nottinghamshire Police have now said they have been 'reviewing the contents' of the clip, adding that a 25-year-old man 'presented himself to police' yesterday afternoon and was arrested on suspicion of assault.

Police would not confirm or deny the identity of the arrested man. Detective Inspector Nicholas Hall said: 'We are working hard to understand the sequence of events depicted in this video and have now interviewed a suspect. As our investigation continues we would like to speak any other witnesses who have not yet come forward.'

The Football Association has also been investigating the video, with Sky Sports News reporting yesterday that McBurnie - who has denied the stamp - had been told to attend a meeting with police voluntarily or be arrested.

The clip, posted by Twitter user @brokenkingmusic, seems to capture the fan falling to the ground before 25-year-old McBurnie comes in with a stamp as he lays on the floor. After the Scotland international is pulled away by one of his colleagues, the fan then slowly returns to his feet at the end of the video. 

But McBurnie has instead suggested he was trying to step over the fan on the floor. On Wednesday night, he responded to a message on Twitter, posted by a Blades fan, which said: 'Wish that video was in full context - looks more like he was trying to step over him with one bad leg! Could be wrong!'

McBurnie endorsed the tweet with a '100' emoji - taken to mean he agreed 100 per cent - but said nothing else.

He also 'liked' a tweet posted by Blades' assistant kit man Adam Geelan, which said: 'Fan illegally enters the pitch provokes and tries to push Rian (Brewster) he defends himself and the kid falls on Oli's broken foot can clearly see there's no stamp, ridiculous post especially when stewards and police were stood there watching it happen and was left to ourselves to defend.'

The Everton supporter involved in the skirmish with Viera last night had filmed himself abusing the Palace boss and giving him the middle finger before Viera eventually kicked out, sending the fan tumbling to the ground.

Thousands of people had ran on to the pitch a Goodison Park last night after Everton's extraordinary 3-2 win over Crystal Palace helped Frank Lampard's team avoid relegation from the Premier League. But Palace's players and manager were left totally exposed and were not properly protected by stewards or police.

It was another shameful night for football in a week where Forest fan Robert Biggs was jailed for 24 weeks for headbutting Sheffield United striker Billy Sharp on Tuesday after the same match involving the McBurnie incident.

As the football season comes to a crescendo, there was also violence at Northampton's playoff clash with Mansfield on Wednesday where a Cobblers fans threw a flare at opposition players after confronting them on the pitch when they went through. 

Luton Town boss Nathan Jones said he had been abused as Huddersfield fans ran on to celebrate their team's play-off semi-final win on Monday. And Everton fans were also accused of racially abusing the families of Brentford players when they lost 3-2 on Sunday.

As clubs were told to get a grip on invasions - and a police officer was even seen playing with a football next to young fans on the pitch at Goodison Park last night - it emerged:

The week's events have led football bosses to threaten clubs with sanctions in an effort to curb the disgraceful behaviour which has plagued multiple tiers of the game this week. Clubs could face stadium closures as a result.

In the Premier League, Vieira is facing an FA investigation after appearing to kick out at a fan on the night Everton celebrated securing their Premier League status. Footage emerged of Vieira seeming to lash out at a home supporter who was part of a mass pitch invasion following the Toffees' 3-2 comeback win last night.

The fan who was involved seemingly posted a video of the incident on Twitter with the footage showing someone putting a middle finger in the face of Vieira, who then reacts.

Asked about the incident after the match, Vieira said: 'I've got nothing to say about that.'  Thousands of jubilant Everton supporters who had seen their side secure Premier League survival invaded the pitch after the match. 

Vieira, unaccompanied by staff or security, made his way across the pitch towards the away dressing room which is housed in the Park End car park as a result of Covid protocols.

Footage on Sky Sports showed the fan goading Vieira with what looked to be obscene gestures and the angry Palace boss reacted by lashing out, first with his hand before kicking the individual who had approached him.

Vieira was then seemingly shoved by another Everton fan before others stepped in to ensure the 45-year-old could leave the pitch safely.

Speaking on Sky Sports, pundit and former footballer Dion Dublin criticised the conduct of the fans and suggested he did not blame Vieira for responding.

'We know how overjoyed the Everton fans are but you can't be doing that. You can't be pushing managers and pushing players, touching players and shouting in their faces,' said Dublin.

'We know it is only one or two who spoiled it for everyone else. Having fans on the pitch is not the way forward. We need to stop letting fans, or allowing fans to get on the pitch. It is too dangerous.'

Everton manager Frank Lampard offered his support to Vieira following the incident.  'I feel for Patrick because I didn't get to speak to him at the end because of how it all erupted for us,' he said.

'Of course, he is running across the pitch of 80 yards across a lot of our fans, so it is not easy. But there were no issues that I know of. If done in the right way, I am happy for fans to stay on the pitch and enjoy it. 

'As long as everyone is behaving and we don't see scenes like we did the other night, let them have their moment. It's what football is all about. Are we going to handcuff them to their seats? As long as they behave, no problem.'