The fan ran across the pitch and confronted the defender before attempting to join in with the home side’s goal celebrations
A man who allegedly shoved Chris Smalling while invading the pitch in Arsenal’s win over Manchester United has been charged with common assault.
Gary Cooper of Chertsey, Surrey, was charged on Monday and will appear at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on March 26 after being granted bail.
It is alleged that he confronted the United defender as he ran across the pitch while Arsenal celebrated their second goal in the 2-0 win, and he has been charged with common assault having entered the field of play.
In response to the incident, Arsenal released a statement condemning Cooper’s actions, adding: “We would like to apologise to Chris and Manchester United, and are pleased that the individual was apprehended and arrested.”
Smalling refused to discuss the incident when commenting on the Red Devils’ loss at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
“Commenting would only add to the attention he craved,” the 29-year-old wrote on Twitter. “Disappointed with yesterday’s result but we’ll learn from it. Looking ahead.”
The incident came just hours after a Birmingham City supporter ran onto the pitch during the Midlands derby against Aston Villa, launching a punch at Jack Grealish. The fan, Paul Mitchell, has since been jailed for 14 weeks.
That has forced the Football Association to come out and describe the weekend’s scenes as “crossing a line”, adding that they will work with clubs to prevent similar problems from occurring in the future.
“This weekend a line has been crossed in terms of fan behaviour,” said the FA.
“We will be working with the clubs, the leagues and the police to discuss what collectively needs to be done to protect players and officials on the pitch.
“In addition, we have written to both Birmingham City and Arsenal to seek their observations and examine the security measures they had in place.”
