'TOO FAR'
Swindon’s Harry McKirdy claims Port Vale fans ‘threw bottles at players and hit and kicked him’ after invading pitch
SWINDON TOWN star Harry McKirdy claims Port Vale fans ‘threw bottles at players’ while invading the pitch after last night’s League Two play-off.
A tense game saw home side Port Vale emerge victorious on penalties, with Swindon’s Ellis Iandolo missing the decisive spot-kick.
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And jubilant Vale supporters flooded the field to celebrate before things took an ugly turn – just like they did for Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira at Everton last night.
Swindon star Madela Egbo has already revealed how he was allegedly attacked by Port Vale fans while trying to leave the pitch.
That’s after an altercation between home fans and Swindon players broke out on the halfway line.
Now, team-mate McKirdy has hit out at Vale supporters for going “too far” by throwing items at him while attempting to physically hit him.
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McKirdy said: “I’ll take the stick and the songs. But bottles, coins, lighters thrown at me. Running on and hitting and kicking me/teammates.
“Something’s got to happen @efl.”
Teammate Ego was also left infuriated, saying: “How you scummy fans get two free shots and only manage a scratch?
“And I’m supposed to keep my cool – if I react I’m the bad guy right?”
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Swindon boss Ben Garner told Sky Sports: "What they [the Swindon players] have had to put up with coming off that pitch... players have been physically and verbally abused.
"I know I've seen it in some of the other play-off games, I don't know where we're going as a country it's absolutely disgusting."
Garner later added: “We wouldn't put up with that in any other profession but it's become like a fashion in football.
“It's just madness. For me, everyone who has gone onto the pitch, just ban them. They were told before and during the game, so ban them.
'I don't think they were coming on out of celebration. They were coming on for violence and to antagonise.
“It was a free-for-all. I was abused, staff were abused, the players were abused, physically and verbally. It's appalling, it really is.
If a football retaliates, he would be tarnished for the rest of his career
Ben Garner
“There is nothing ‘serious, serious’ in the dressing room but there is a cut and a couple of other bits and pieces, although no stitches. But I felt unsafe. The players certainly were and I was just trying to get the players out of harm's way.
“It was dangerous and I also worried if one of my players was going to retaliate. If a footballer retaliates in that situation, he would be tarnished with that for the rest of his career.”
Port Vale boss Darrell Clarke noted: “We don't want to see that in our game. The culprits will be dealt with.
“I know how [owner] Carol [Shanahan] feels about this sort of thing. It’s something we don’t want to see.”
There were more ugly scenes at Goodison Park last night as Everton beat Crystal Palace to avoid relegation.
Toffees fans ran onto the pitch at full-time before one approached Eagles boss Vieira.
The Everton supporter appeared to abuse Vieira, who then allegedly grabbed the man before kicking him to the ground.
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Meanwhile, Sheffield United star Billy Sharp was brutally headbutted by a Nottingham Forest fan.
The thug has been sentenced to six months in jail and banned from games for a decade.
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