.-') _ .-') _ | |
( OO ) ) ( OO ) ) | |
.-----. ,--./ ,--,' ,--./ ,--,' | |
' .--./ | \ | |\ | \ | |\ | |
| |('-. | \| | )| \| | ) | |
/_) |OO )| . |/ | . |/ | |
|| |`-'| | |\ | | |\ | | |
(_' '--'\ | | \ | | | \ | | |
`-----' `--' `--' `--' `--' | |
lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial | |
ARTICLE VIEW: | |
Altercation between player and fan mars return of Tom Brady’s | |
Birmingham City to English soccer’s second tier | |
By Thomas Schlachter, CNN | |
Updated: | |
8:08 AM EDT, Sat August 9, 2025 | |
Source: CNN | |
drew its first game in its return to the , English soccer’s second | |
tier, but the opening game festivities turned sour following an | |
altercation between a fan and a player late on. | |
The moment was captured on the TV broadcast which showed a fan | |
appearing to make contact with Ipswich Town’s Jack Taylor after the | |
away side equalized in added time during the 1-1 draw. | |
Newly promoted Birmingham City – the soccer club where legendary | |
quarterback is a minority owner – had taken the lead against Ipswich | |
Town when star striker Jay Stansfield fired into an open net in the | |
55th minute. | |
But with time running out, Ipswich Town’s George Hirst calmly | |
equalized from the penalty spot to give the visiting side a share of | |
the points at St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park, Birmingham. | |
The decision to award the late penalty kick was a contentious one and | |
tensions boiled over during Ipswich Town’s celebrations. | |
Players from both teams pushed and grabbed hold of each other as the | |
incident moved past the goal and toward the section of fans behind it. | |
Footage then shows a fan jumping over the barriers toward the players | |
where he appeared to make contact with Ipswich Town’s Taylor. | |
This fan was then pulled away from the crowd of players by stadium | |
security. | |
“I think there might have been an incident with the crowd and one of | |
the players, to be honest, that maybe wasn’t ideal,” Ipswich Town | |
head coach Kieran McKenna told the Sky Sports broadcast after the game. | |
“It’ll be seen or it’ll be reported and let’s see,” McKenna | |
added. | |
The English Football Association (FA) told CNN on Saturday they were | |
aware of the incident and will be investigating further. | |
The West Midlands Police told CNN they are working with Birmingham City | |
Football Club and are reviewing CCTV footage to establish the full | |
circumstances. | |
CNN has reached out to Birmingham City and Ipswich Town for comment. | |
<- back to index |