Coin-thrower drags football back 20 years – Brunt

Chris Brunt has accused the coin-throwing West Brom supporter of setting football back two decades. 

West Brom defender Brunt was struck on the face by one of the club’s own fans after their 3-1 loss at Reading in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday. 

UK Police and the Football Association are investigating the incident, and the Northern Irishman is furious with the culprit’s “disgusting” actions.

“You are throwing football back 20 years with that behaviour. That is disgusting,” he said.

“Regardless of how bad a footballer he thinks I am or how bad we played, there is no place for that – you don’t see that anywhere these days.

“The big thing for me was there was a young girl in the front row who I wanted to give my shirt to and they had to witness that.

“My wife and kids were going to come to the game too but I am glad they didn’t because if my kids had witnessed that I would have been gutted.

“You can accept criticism and accept people having a go at you in games for not playing well individually or as a team but you can’t accept people throwing stuff, that is not on.

“I can’t pick that coin up and throw it back at him. If I did that I would be all over the news and probably sitting in a police cell.

“We are not allowed to do it and nobody is allowed to do it in the street so why should he be allowed to throw coins at football matches? I don’t really see how that was any different to whacking someone in the street. It is the same sort of thing.

Brunt added: “He was probably lucky the police were there otherwise he might have got collared by me if I had known who he was.

“I have no idea who it was, I didn’t see it but it was a good shot from 30 yards. It would make him a bigger man than what he was, to throw a coin from 30 yards away to hit me in the head, if he owned up to it.”