Villa to take strong action
19 Oct 2008 - 07:53:11
Aston Villa have vowed to ban for life the supporter who hit the assistant referee with a coin during Saturday's goalless draw against Portsmouth.
Official Phil Sharp was left with a cut above his right eye after being hit with a 50 pence coin thrown in the direction of the visitors dugout towards the end of the game.
Villa have confirmed they will launch an inquiry in conjunction with the Midlands police and have promised to take severe action.
The Football Association has also indicated it will launch its own investigation into the incident.
Club spokesman Steve Tudgay said: "We can confirm a 50 pence coin was thrown at Phil Sharp. There was a cut to his head although he required no stitches and he is fine.
"The police and the club will hold a joint investigation and CCTV footage will be checked and the culprit will be dealt with by police.
"From our point of view, any culprit will be banned for life and we condemn such actions very strongly."
Villa manager Martin O'Neill also condemned the incident and added: "It is unacceptable, absolutely unacceptable. It shouldn't be there.
"I turned to the fourth official and he told me there were four minutes of added time and then the next thing you know, the linesman is on the floor after being hit by a coin.
"It is just unacceptable and there's no place for it in the game whatsoever.
"From our own point of view, the club are making good strides. Since the chairman has come in, we have become a real supporter-friendly football club with a really good atmosphere so this is all terribly disappointing. It's just mindless."