Alex Sapphire wrote:ensuing. It's ensuing
Manchester City plan to speak to a fan whose collapse, following a confrontation with stewards and police, has caused fury after footage of the incident was posted on YouTube.
In the footage, taken during the 4-1 victory over Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium, the fan, who had allegedly been persistently standing, initially refuses to leave his seat. As other fans tell stewards to leave him alone, he is heard telling stewards that he is on medication for a heart condition. After he is eventually lifted out of his seat, he appears to collapse to the ground.
"He was stood up like every other person in that section," Steven Brown, a fan sitting nearby, told the Manchester Evening News. "I heard everything and he never swore at them. Before the police came he sat down. One of the stewards climbed over three rows to grab him. He was confrontational and that started getting people's backs up.
"The man started holding his chest and collapsed to the floor. That's when police radioed for paramedics to come and help him. After that they took him out on to the concourse and sent him on his way. It wasn't needed. There were 2,500 standing up and they picked him out."
On Monday the unofficial club website MCFCfans called for an investigation into the incident, which they said showed "the apparent singling out of an older, apparently vulnerable, City fan".
The area where the incident took place – Block 109 – is near the away fans, and recognised as one of the loudest areas of the ground. Manchester police said the fan was arrested for a suspected breach of the peace, but then de-arrested.
