Fan who ran onto pitch and threw PUNCHES at Nottingham Forest players during FA Cup goal celebration against Leicester arrested by police

A man who appeared to attack Nottingham Forest players as they celebrated their third goal in their FA Cup win over Leicester City has been arrested by police.

The supporter emerged from the away section at the City Ground before throwing punches at Forest players, who were celebrating Joe Worrall’s goal. Forest went on to win the tie 4-1 and will host Huddersfield in the fifth round.

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Nottinghamshire Police said they had arrested a man after the incident, which happened during the first half of the fourth-round contest.

Chief Inspector Neil Williams said: “We have arrested a man in connection with an incident that took place today during the first half of the Nottingham Forest and Leicester City FA cup match.

“Investigations are in the very early stages and our enquiries into the circumstances surrounding the incident are ongoing.”

Leicester were quick to apologise to Forest for the incident and said in a statement that the fan was facing a lifetime ban.

It read: “The club is appalled by such behaviour and offers its apologies to Nottingham Forest and its players whose safety was compromised.

“We applaud the swift action taken by City Ground stewards in apprehending the individual involved, who will be subject to a lifetime ban from all Leicester City fixtures at home and away. We will offer every support to the relevant authorities in pursuing further appropriate action.”

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Forest star Philip Zinckernagel outlined the severity of the situation when he explained the clebrating players thought it was one of their own fans joining them.

“It’s terrible,” he said. “We thought it was one of our fans coming to celebrate with us, so even though we’re not supposed to, we kind of grabbed him in and wanted to share our joy with him.

“Suddenly he started punching away and it was a bit shocking. Hopefully this guy will not see a football match for a long time.”

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Leciester City boss Rodgers condemned his own fan and believes the incident is representative of a wider issue.

He said: “It’s society. The rules of society have changed. There’s a total lack of respect..

“It’s not just in football, it’s in life. I speak to many business people and people in the military, all across society. It’s the lack of respect and people feeling entitled that they can do things.

“The rules of society need to change and we see that lack of respect today. We’ve seen it for the last couple of years. Supporters breaking into stadiums, what is that about?

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“You come, you support your team and win, lose or draw, you have respect. It’s lacking in society and it spreads into other aspects of life.”

Pundit and former Leicester and England player Gary Lineker was among those who were quick to condemn the incident.

Lineker tweeted: “Whoever that so-called fan was who ran on to the pitch throwing punches at @NFFC’s players should be banned for life by @LCFC. An embarrassment and a disgrace.”