Jail this moron! Leeds shame as fan attacks Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Kirkland
By John Edwards
Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Chris Kirkland was felled by a Leeds fan who ran on to the pitch and attacked him in disgraceful scenes that marred a heated Yorkshire derby at Hillsborough on Friday night.
The Football Association has said it will investigate the incident and Leeds manager Neil Warnock led the condemnation of the 77th-minute flashpoint, describing the thug as a ‘moron’ and calling for him to be ‘prosecuted and put in prison’.
His opposite number Dave Jones — equally outraged by travelling supporters who ripped up seats and chanted abuse at him — said Leeds fans should be ‘banned from every ground in the country’.
An emotional Jones branded Leeds fans ‘vile animals’ after the 1-1 draw and also clashed angrily with Warnock after he gestured for his players to walk to the away end and applaud the fans who had heaped shame on their club.
Within minutes of the incident, fans on social media sites claimed to have identified the culprit — an infamous Leeds hooligan who they said had been in trouble three times for flouting football banning orders.
Police are working to identify the man, who was one of several supporters from the away end who ran on to the pitch.
Chief Superintendent Jason Harwin, of South Yorkshire Police, said a senior investigating officer would be working with a team of officers to identify those responsible for the disruption.
He said there had been five arrests for various offences including public order before and after the game, while three people were ejected from the ground and 12 were subject to dispersal orders.
In a statement, he added: 'First I would like to thank members of the public who have contacted us with information to help in the ongoing investigations following the incidents at Hillsborough.'
The assault, that will surely lead to serious FA sanctions, came after Michael Tonge volleyed an equaliser from 20 yards. As Tonge wheeled away to celebrate, a fan appeared at the side of Kirkland’s goal and felled him with a double-handed slap that caught him by surprise and sent him reeling. As he lay on the goalline, seats came raining down into the Wednesday area.
The scenes will cause the FA acute embarrassment following their stance over crowd behaviour in Serbia at Tuesday’s Under 21 game, where England’s black players were racially abused.
Jones, whose side had led through a Jay Bothroyd header in the 44th minute, was taunted about allegations of which he was cleared more than a decade ago.
He said: ‘People go on about racism, but chants like we heard tonight are a form of that and Leeds need to clean their house up and get it in order. I’ve had it for 12 years, but that doesn’t make it right, because we are talking here about vile animals.
‘It is an absolute disgrace, and the authorities have to sort it out quickly, otherwise they will keep doing it.
‘They are vile animals, all of them, and I don’t care if that’s tarring them with the same brush. They should be, because those who were chanting should be ashamed of themselves, and so should those who sat by and did nothing. I thought we’d left all this behind 20 years ago, and it sickens me that we are still having to put up with it.
‘Chris is sore and dazed and may even be slightly concussed. I had a go at Neil for telling his players to go and applaud those animals. I was really annoyed about that.
‘They clapped them for what? Wrecking our stadium? Beating up our keeper? They’re probably doing the same to the police now. You talk about morals, and then he does something like that.’
Warnock said: ‘I felt embarrassed to be a manager when I saw that. It was an absolute disgrace. They should get the guy and prosecute him and put him in prison.
‘He (Kirkland) went down like a ton of bricks but that doesn’t make a difference. Nobody should be on the pitch doing that.
‘That moron has spoiled everything for everyone. I am not proud of being Leeds manager when I see that. I am absolutely embarrassed. They had enough security, but if a person like him with a five-year-old mentality wants to get on, they can’t stop him.’
Leeds issued a statement saying: ‘Leeds United Football Club would like to publicly apologise and condemn the action of the fan. The club will co-operate fully.’
Chairman of the Leeds United Supporters' Club Ray Fell wants action taken quickly against the assailant although he pointed out poisonous chants from both sets of fans contributed to the hostile atmosphere.
Fell told Sky Sports 1: 'The only hope for most of us is the police act quickly and this lad is brought to task for it. He let the club down and he let us all down.
'The only thing we don't like about it - it wasn't the Leeds fans who attacked the goalkeeper, it was a Leeds fan who attacked the goalkeeper and the other issue is also what fuelled it. Both sets of fans were chanting.'
Of Jones' description of Leeds fans as 'vile animals', Fell added: 'I think in fairness to him, no-one likes and I certainly deplore the chanting that went on. I can understand his anger at that.'
Fell was critical of the ease with which fans were able to get onto the pitch after Leeds' equaliser.
He added: 'These clubs need to make sure the stewards works properly - the Taylor report seems to have been forgotten in recent years and it's time we went back to looking at these things and that the grounds are properly policed and stewarded.'
In 2002, a Birmingham fan who ran on the pitch and taunted Aston Villa goalkeeper Peter Enckelman was sentenced to four months in jail.