Police are treating an incident in which Albion’s Chris Brunt was hit by a 50p piece thrown by one of his own team’s travelling supporters as an assault.
The Northern Ireland midfielder had gone over to applaud his side’s fans following their FA Cup fifth-round defeat at Reading, but went down clutching his face as he approached the crowd. He then had to be restrained by stewards as he attempted to confront the culprit – with his manager, Tony Pulis, calling the incident “barbaric”.
“He’s got a cut under his eye – and it’s not too far away either – it’s an inch away from actually striking him in his eye,” said Pulis. “If that happens we’re talking about a very, very serious problem. It’s barbaric. That’s criminal, and I mean criminal.”
On a day when Reading came from behind to win with three second-half goals, their manager, Brian McDermott, promised his club would do everything in their power to help identify the culprit, while the FA confirmed it had also launched an investigation.
Brunt said he had gone over to the stand to give his shirt to a young fan, and called what unfolded “absolutely disgusting … Obviously we get our fair share of stick, but to be hit with a coin by your own fans … The guy who threw it knows who he is and knows all this week where I’ll be, so if he wants to come and have a word, that’s not a problem – I’ll meet him wherever he wants. I’ve been here a long time, I’ve loved my time here and that’s the first time I’ve been ashamed of our supporters.”
A Thames Valley police spokesperson said: “The incident will be dealt with as an assault and we will be working to identify anyone involved.”
