Man arrested after Nottingham Forest players attacked by pitch invader

A man has been arrested after Nottingham Forest players were attacked by a pitch invader during the club’s FA Cup win over Leicester City.

Forest romped home to a surprise 4-1 win against rivals Leicester City on Sunday, but the game was marred when the man ran on to the pitch and had to be tackled by stewards.

Nottinghamshire Police chief inspector Neil Williams said: “We have arrested a man in connection with an incident that took place today during the first half of the Nottingham Forest and Leicester City FA cup match.

“Investigations are in the very early stages and our inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the incident are ongoing.”

Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers blamed “a total lack of respect” in society after a spectator had to be wrestled to the ground by stewards when he ran on to the pitch to attack Forest players celebrating the team’s third goal.

Mr Rodgers noted that there had been a series of unsavoury incidents during matches in recent weeks during a post-match interview.

“It’s society. The rules of society have changed. There’s a total lack of respect. It’s not just in football, it’s in life,” he said.

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“I speak to many business people and people in the military, all across society. It’s the lack of respect and people feeling entitled that they can do things.

“The rules of society need to change and we see that lack of respect today. We’ve seen it for the last couple of years. Supporters breaking into stadiums, what is that about?

“You come, you support your team and win, lose or draw, you have respect. It’s lacking in society and it spreads into other aspects of life.”

“It’s behaviour that you never want to see,” he said of the attack. “Whatever goes on in the field, it has to be a safe environment for the players, and we must always retain the respect in football.

“Unfortunately the guy has come on to the pitch and was clearly, clearly disappointed by what he was watching.”

Leicester apologised to Forest for the incident and said in a statement that the fan was facing a lifetime ban.

It read: “The club is appalled by such behaviour and offers its apologies to Nottingham Forest and its players whose safety was compromised.

“We applaud the swift action taken by City Ground stewards in apprehending the individual involved, who will be subject to a lifetime ban from all Leicester City fixtures at home and away.

“We will offer every support to the relevant authorities in pursuing further appropriate action.”

Forest manager Steve Cooper said he hadn’t directly seen the incident but trusted the authorities to take the proper course of action.

Cooper said: “We have to trust the authorities to do the right thing. I haven’t spoken to the players about it. It didn’t really get a mention.

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