Shocking moment an ‘agressive and out of control’ football steward PUNCHES a fan in the face during during Blackpool’s match with Scunthorpe, as club probe the ‘attack’
- Footage has emerged of a steward punching a fan on Wednesday evening
- The nasty incident took place during Blackpool’s game with Scunthorpe
- The short clip was posted on social media moments after the incident took place
- Blackpool confirmed that they have opened an investigation into the incident
A shocking video has shown the moment a football fan was punched in the face by an ‘aggressive’ and ‘out of control’ steward.
The incident happened in the concourse at Bloomfield Road during Blackpool’s EFL Trophy clash with Scunthorpe on Wednesday night.
According to an eyewitness, a group of 20 stewards were removing 10 fans from the ground for standing up when the incident occurred.
Footage has emerged of a steward (left) punching a fan in the face at Bloomfield Road
A seven-second video shot by one of the ejected supporters shows a hooded man, aged 19, rushing forward towards the officials.
One of the stewards, who looks in his 50s, then grabs the fan with his left arm and uses his right fist to punch him in the side of the head.
The supporter had his back to the steward and didn’t appear to be lashing out when he was struck.
An eyewitness, who does not want to be named, said: ‘Me and my mates were stood up at the game and were told by stewards to sit down.
‘When we scored we obviously stood up again to celebrate the goal – we didn’t think there was a problem with that.
One of the stewards grabbed the fan before punching him in the side of the head
A supporter recording the ordeal filmed from afar before approaching the stewards
‘In about the 80th minute I went to the toilet and I was grabbed by a steward who told me I was getting chucked out.
‘Then the rest of the stewards went and grabbed my mates from their seats.
‘They were dragging us around to get us out of the ground, their approach was really over-aggressive and out of control.
‘My mate was then pushed from behind into some of the stewards, which is when one of them grabbed him and hit him in the head.
‘Luckily the whole thing was caught on camera so people can see exactly what happened.’
The eyewitness added: ‘I don’t understand why they were so aggressive towards us.
‘We weren’t causing a problem, all we had done was stand up, which is a normal thing to do at a football match.’
The fan said his group of friends, who are season-ticket holders, were sat in the front two rows of the west stand during the Leasing.com Trophy game, which Blackpool lost 3-1.
They were ejected from the stadium with minutes remaining by around 20 stewards.
Blackpool went on to lose the game 3-1 to Scunthorpe at Bloomfield Road on Wednesday
A number of men from the group have since been in touch with the club to complain about their ‘unfair’ treatment.
A Blackpool official has been in touch with the man who was punched on Thursday, who does not want to be named, to arrange a meeting, which is due to take place on Friday.
A club spokesman said: ‘Blackpool Football Club is aware of an incident that occurred on the concourse at last night’s game against Scunthorpe United and is taking the matter very seriously.
‘An investigation into the incident is now underway and the club will provide a further update in due course.’
The spokesman was not willing to say whether the steward involved in the altercation will face disciplinary action.
Lancashire Police have been contacted for comment.
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