Premier League fan invades pitch and confronts Newcastle Howe manager

“I didn’t have time to understand, everything happened so fast. But moments like this should make you think”. Eddy Howe, the Newcastle coach, thus recounts the close encounter with a Leeds fan in the final moments of the match at Elland Road, which finished 2-2. The fan escaped the stewards, entered the pitch and found himself face to face with the opposing coach, before being recovered by two security personnel and escorted off. “Following what happened during the Newcastle match, an arrest was made which was followed by a life ban,” Leeds said immediately after the investigation confirmed that the fan invaded the pitch, grabbed Howe and then pushed him.

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Howe said he was surprised to find the fan in his technical area, being told “one-time things” before the man was removed by two members of security. “These are situations that no one should experience – he said in the press conference after the match -. It’s something we should think about, because no one playing sports should find themselves wondering if their personal safety has been violated. I was concentrating on the match, then I turned around and… I didn’t have time to get scared, to be honest, because it all ended right away. But things like this make you think, make you wonder what if. I think moments like these should make people look at things and ask how the safety of players and staff can be improved.” The Football Association has already announced that it has opened an investigation into the incident.