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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport

Arsenal coach Unai Emery issues apology after kicking bottle which hit Brighton fan

Unai Emery has apologised after kicking a water bottle which "touched" a Brighton supporter during Arsenal's 1-1 draw at Brighton on Boxing Day.

Emery appeared to accidentally kick a water bottle in the direction of a Brighton supporter during the game, but the 47-year-old head coach apologised and the fan appeared to accept Emery's handshake and apology in good nature.

"I said to them apologies because I kick the bottle after a disappointing action for us in the last minutes," he said after the game.

"It wasn't hard, but it touched one supporter for them. I said to them I'm sorry."

The incident follows a spate of recent instances of fans intentionally throwing cups and bottles at players.

Dele Alli was hit by a plastic bottle thrown by an Arsenal fan during Tottenham's 2-0 EFL Cup victory at the Emirates Stadium last week.

Meanwhile, West Ham have warned that they intend to issue a lifetime ban from the London Stadium to the fan who threw a coffee cup at Troy Deeney during Saturday's 2-0 defeat against Watford.

After scoring a penalty, Deeney attempted a knee slide before punching the corner flag out of the ground and goading the home supporters - one of whom threw a paper cup in his direction.

Additional reporting by the Press Association.

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