Former FIFA official worried by new trend after flashpoint in Everton loss v Aston Villa
We’re delighted to welcome former Premier League referee Keith Hackett as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Everton...
Keith Hackett is concerned about a growing number of incidents where bottles are being thrown at Premier League players.
After Aston Villa scored their winning goal against Everton on Saturday, Matty Cash and Lucas Digne both went to the ground after a bottle appeared to be thrown from a section of home supporters at Goodison Park.
Everton confirmed after the game that an arrest has been made and the Daily Mail have since reported that a teenager from Walton has been charged “with assault and throwing an item onto the pitch”.
It’s not the only time this has happened this season. Two Tottenham fans were arrested after Chelsea’s Antonio Rudiger had objects allegedly thrown at him on Sunday [Telegraph] while there have been other incidents at other Premier League grounds.
Hackett admits that there’s not much the clubs can do to prevent the issue after the Everton stadium announcer warned fans about their behaviour on Saturday.
Speaking to Goodison News, the former FIFA referee said: “They’ve already arrested somebody so they’ve acted promptly.
“It’s a difficult one for the club. It seems to be a trend.
“It featured on the BBC this morning (Monday) on the news programme and I think there’s been quite a number of incidents where this is becoming a problem.”
Digne was sold to Aston Villa by Everton earlier this month and he assisted Emiliano Buendia’s match-winning goal on his return to Goodison Park.
He and his new teammates celebrated near home supporters but there’s simply no excuse for that to result in missiles being thrown onto the pitch and potentially endangering the players.
In other Everton news, a shareholder at Goodison is appalled by reports of who the new manager could be.