Manchester City fan faces lifetime ban over pitch encroachment
The Manchester City fan who ran on to the pitch to confront Rio Ferdinand during Sunday's Manchester derby faces a lifetime ban from the club.
Matthew Stott, 21, has had his season ticket revoked and will be banned for life if found guilty of pitch encroachment in court.
"His season card has been removed and he has been charged to appear at court," said a City spokesman.
"If he is found guilty he faces a lifetime ban."
“We've had racial abuse issues, the odd pitch incursion, things being thrown at players - it's very unacceptable and has to be dealt with severely... in the strongest way we can”
Football Association chairman David Bernstein
Stott, described by his solicitor as "not a stereotypical drunken football fan", said in a statement he would be writing to United defender Ferdinand to apologise.
In a statement released by his solicitors, Stott, a landscape gardener from Knutsford, said: "I would like to apologise to all those affected by my actions yesterday, particularly Mr Ferdinand and the other players.
"I am extremely ashamed of my actions. I have let myself down, my family down, my fellow fans down and Manchester City Football Club.
"I intend to write personally to Mr Ferdinand to express my extreme regret and apologies (fair enough) and also apologise to Manchester United and their fans (steady on Stottie lad).
"I would like to thank Joe Hart for his actions when I came on the pitch.
"I have been a fan of Manchester City all my life and I have been a season-ticket holder for three years and I attend the games with my father. I have had the same seat in the section next to the away fans for those three years."
Centre-back Ferdinand suffered a cut above his left eye after being struck as United celebrated striker Robin van Persie's winning goal in a 3-2 victory against their rivals.
While Ferdinand played down the incident in a tweet, the Football Association has opened an investigation into the incident, which has been condemned by Manchester City.
City keeper Joe Hart had to stop Stott, who had run on to the pitch, from reaching Ferdinand as the defender recovered from the blow. Stott was escorted from the field by police officers.
In another tweet, referring to Hart stepping in to the fray, Ferdinand added: "Respect to Joe Hart for protecting that idiot who ran on!! Love the banter between fans but there is a point when it goes too far...calm it!"
Police have also charged eight other people in relation to the trouble. The charges include a racially aggravated public order offence, pitch encroachment, breach of football banning orders and other public offences, including being drunk and disorderly.
A police spokesman said they are continuing to work with City to identify the offender who threw a coin at Ferdinand.
Football Association chairman David Bernstein described the incidents as "deplorable".
"To see Rio Ferdinand with blood on his face is absolutely terrible," he told Sky Sports News.
"I think it's disturbing that we're seeing a recurrence of these types of incidents.
"We've had racial abuse issues, the odd pitch incursion, things being thrown at players - it's very unacceptable and has to be dealt with severely... in the strongest way we can." BBC
Rob rage at Hart and Balotelli
Mancini blames his big names for City's derby agony
ROBERTO MANCINI flew into a dressing-room rage after City lost the Manchester derby to Robin van Persie’s late free-kick.
Mancini tore into keeper Joe Hart saying, “It’s your fault” as City’s unbeaten Premier League record was ended dramatically.
The City boss then turned his attentions to misfiring striker Mario Balotelli, Carlos Tevez and Samir Nasri.
Balotelli was surprisingly chosen to start but was hauled off early in the second half and replaced by Tevez. A dressing-room insider said: “Mancini was going mad, he just seems to pick fights with everybody.”
Mancini was also fuming with Tevez and Nasri for their dismal efforts to keep out Van Persie’s winner.
Tevez conceded the free-kick then walked away from the wall and Mancini said: “I don’t know why. I understood before that the free-kick was dangerous, I don’t know why it happened.
“The player shooting was Van Persie and he hit it very well. I called Carlos to return to the wall but I was too far away on the bench.”
Nasri inexplicably moved behind Edin Dzeko, then got a touch on RVP’s effort, sending it out of Hart’s reach.
Mancini added: “We made a mistake and only put three players there. Actually we had only had 2½ players there, we didn’t cover very well.
“I think the wall should have been better. I think in the last second we should pay more attention to this situation. If you need to put your face there, you need to put your face there.”
City looked far more threatening when Tevez replaced Balotelli early in the second half as the champions pulled back a two-goal deficit.
The Italy international stormed straight off down the tunnel and Mancini issued a stark warning to Super Mario afterwards.
He said: “I love Mario as a guy and a player but it is important for him to start to think about his job.
“He has everything to play well. We wanted more from him and he cannot play like he played today.
“When you have the quality that Mario has, you can’t just throw it out of the window.”
City are now six points behind their neighbours as the season approaches the halfway stage but Mancini insists it is still all to play for.
He said: “I was happy with our performance. For 20 minutes they did not touch the ball.
“They shot at goal three times and scored three goals. We are not in a good moment but this season is long, we have time to recover.”
Manchester derby: Nine charged by police Ferdinand received a cut above his left eye
Nine people have been charged after the match between Manchester City and Manchester United on Sunday.
United's Rio Ferdinand was injured when he was hit by an object thrown from someone in the crowd at the end of the derby game at the Etihad Stadium.
Police are still trying to identify the person responsible for the attack.
However, officers have charged nine people, including one with racially aggravated public order and two with breaching a football banning order.
Two men are accused of pitch encroachment, one with a public order offence and three with being drunk and disorderly.
All are due to appear before Manchester City Magistrates' Court on 4 January.
Four others were arrested, including a 50-year-old man who was held for ticket touting but was released without charge.
A 45-year-old man was summonsed for a racially aggravated public order offence.
An 18-year-old woman was cautioned for being drunk and disorderly and a 33-year-old man remains in police custody after being arrested on suspicion of possessing a class A drug.
Ferdinand received a cut above his left eye when the object hit him as he celebrated Robin van Persie's late strike.
The Dutchman's deflected free-kick ensured United won the Premier League game 3-2 following a second half fightback from City, who had been 2-0 down at half time.
Manchester derby prompts PFA to consider protective netting
Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Gordon Taylor says it might be necessary to introduce netting around pitches to protect players.
Taylor was speaking after Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand was hit by an object as his side celebrated a winner against Manchester City on Sunday.
"I think you've got to consider, as has been suggested, some netting in vulnerable areas," said Taylor.
"It could be behind the goals and round the corner flags."
Centre-back Ferdinand was seen bleeding from a cut above his left eye after being hit as United celebrated striker Robin van Persie's goal in a 3-2 victory against their rivals.
While Ferdinand played down the incident in a tweet, the Football Association has opened an investigation into the incident, which has been condemned by Manchester City.
City keeper Joe Hart also had to stop a fan, who had run on to the pitch, from reaching Ferdinand as the defender recovered from the blow.
But Malcolm Clarke, chairman of the Football Supporters' Federation, believes introducing netting would not be the right solution.
"Netting is not something we feel is necessary to have," he said.
"No-one condones the throwing of missiles, but arrests last season were 24% down on previous seasons and not many social phenomenon alter that much.
"It is undoubtedly improving and before we start making knee-jerk reactions to particular incidents we ought to bear that in mind."
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]Chelsea are close to finalising an £8m deal for Serbia teenage midfielder Lazar Markovic. The 18-year-old has already been capped by his country and scored in a friendly against Chile last month. He has also hit six goals in 12 games for his club Partizan Belgrade this season. DSSC
Wigan manager Roberto Martinez admits midfielder James McCarthy's recent good form means the 22-year-old Republic of Ireland international is bound to become a transfer target for other teams when the window reopens in three weeks. Metro
Aston Villa, QPR and Norwich are set to fight it out to sign former Spurs striker Robbie Keane on loan. However the LA Galaxy striker, 32, has insisted he has no plans to move back to the Premier League during the MLS close season and wants to take a break to recover from knocks. Daily Mirror
Thierry Henry is set to make his third Arsenal debut in the all-Premier League FA Cup clash against Swansea on 6 January. The Gunners are in advanced talks with New York Red Bulls over a loan spell for the 35-year-old striker that would start five days earlier. DSSC
Southampton manager Nigel Adkins will look to make another attempt next month to tempt Gary Hooper south of the border from Celtic. Adkins sold the 24-year-old striker to Celtic for £175,000 when he was manager of Scunthorpe two years ago. Daily Mirror
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has admitted that the club failed to bring in the required reinforcements in the summer and is planning to play an active role in the January transfer window. Times
Newcastle are likely to renew their interest in France right-back Mathieu Debuchy in January and are also in the market for a new striker. Daily Telegraph
Fulham manager Martin Jol has revealed that Papiss Cisse turned down a move to the Cottagers in January before signing for Newcastle. Daily Express
Senior QPR players Clint Hill and Rob Green have warned manager Harry Redknapp against a major overhaul of the playing squad, arguing that wild spending is exactly what brought the club to its knees. Independent
Chelsea interim manager Rafa Benitez claims he has already improved the Blues and they will start to put pressure on Manchester United and Manchester City in the title race after they play in this week's Club World Cup in Japan. Independent
The Football Association could introduce retrospective disciplinary action against divers at the end of the season. Daily Telegraph
A German referee has apologised for making a crucial mistake during Borussia Dortmund's surprise 3-2 home defeat to Wolfsburg on Saturday. Wolfgang Stark sent off Marcel Schmelzer in the 35th minute and awarded the away side a penalty for an apparent handball on the line. However, when replays showed the ball had actually struck the defender's leg, Stark admitted to his mistake after the match. Metro
MORE LATER
