Coventry player has to be held back by teammates after being ‘shoulder charged’ by linesman

Coventry player Frank Onyeka has to be held back by his fellow teammates after being ‘shoulder charged’ by the linesman.

TikTok user brandon_teyn filmed the moment, with the clip soon emerging across social media, quickly going viral, becoming a trending topic on Twitter.

It came as Northampton and Coventry played out a goalless pre-season friendly, the Sky Blues fanbase outnumbering the Northampton support at Sixfields Stadium.

The lino bumped into a substitute, seemingly clearing his path along the touchline with a nudge.

😭😭 pic.twitter.com/hJK9B3xUQa

— Sam🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇫🇰 (@samcov21) July 18, 2026

@brandon_teynFah he was such a joke 😂♬ original sound – teyn.brandon👞👞👞

@brandon_teynHe was a joke.😂♬ original sound – teyn.brandon👞👞👞

Cobblers boss Chris Hogg said, per Northampton Chronicle: “We want to build a robust squad and obviously we need to add goals to the team and try and give us more in the attacking half of the pitch.

“Central areas are always key to that for me in terms of midfield players and number 10s and 9s.

“We’re looking at a variety of things and we’re close on one or two but I’m not going to say too much on who they are or where we’re at with them. We’re hopeful on one or two in the coming days because we’ve got a lot to do to help the boys.

“We have a solid foundation to build on, as you saw today, but the boys need more support and we need a bit more depth and quality in our squad. We have a lot of work to do but things don’t happen overnight.”

Team lineups (as per ntfc.co.uk):

Northampton: Zach Jeacock, Joe Wormleighton, James Maxwell, Elliott Moore, Jon Guthrie, Dean Campbell, Tyrese Fornah, Sam Hoskins, Logan Briggs, Harvey Saunders, Elliott List

Team from 68th minute onwards: Ross Fitzsimons, Kamarai Swyer, Conor McCarthy (withdrawn on 77 minutes), Max Dyche, Neo Dobson, Grant Ward (trialist), Bobby Ashton, George Daldy, Jake Rooney (trialist), Mateo Moon-Arnaez, Filip Opiela

Coventry: Ben Wilson, Milan van Ewijk, Bobby Thomas, Callum Perry, Jake Bidwell, Victor Torp, Matt Grimes, Loum Tchaouna, Josh Eccles, Ephron Mason-Clark, Ellis Simms

Subs: Oliver Down, Jay DaSilva, Raphael Borges Rodrigues, Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, Liam Kitching, Frank Onyeka, Kaine Kesler-Hayden, Joel Latibeaudiere, Jahnoah Markelo, Norman Bassette, Eliot Meredith, Kai Andrews, Tristan Batanwi, Oscar Varney

Referee: Andy Woolmer

Attendance: 5,060 (3,041 away supporters)

Here’s the social media reaction to a video of the Coventry player, who has to be held back by teammates after being ‘shoulder charged’ by linesman…

@_fod0: Lino is in the right. If he gets an offside call wrong, they would be the ones crying.

@JoshGenera47756: Honestly, some players think they’re soooo entitled with the money they’re on, nice to see them brought down a peg or 2…

@TomJebb8: Player at fault there. He knew what he was doing. Lino needs space to run his line. Look at the player reaction. He looking for a fight.

@TheCustardSplat: They’re warming up wrong side

@1874_liam: They should be warming up on the other half of the pitch

@refsupportuk: Surprised the player never rolled around on the floor holding his face for 5 minutes. I bet the Lino asked them loads of time to get out of his way. 🤷‍♂️

@IainByrne23: Gtfo the linos way

@BinksLeeds: Hahaha go on lino. Look at the sub giving it he if he wasn’t holding me back. That’s the linos space and he’s right to defend it like that.

@CaptainBulshat: A whole teams worth of players warming up on the linos patch. Gotta love pre season

@fonics7: Idiots are running up and down the lino’s touchline. Fuck off behind the goal, or the other touchline that’s free. Player’s have never been clever lads but jesus

@Hendondave: The subs should not be warming up that close to the touch line. The player clearly was in the assistant’s path and could have been carded for touching the sideline. He is technically on the field of play.

@jimmysmith89: No often you side with the linesman but he’s got 1 job and your surrounding him with 15 of your teammates. Get out the fucking way! You can tell they were giving him stick aswell

@Ginga_Macca: Linesman need to get up and down the line. That player is fuckin knobhead, get out of his way and let him do his job.

@ben_mummery: Fully on the side of the lino here mind

@JTakesSports: Seems to think he’s the linesman mate. Needs access to get up and down the line.

@TheRefereeForum: I’ve done the same when running the line. Fucking move. It’s not like I can go anywhere else!

@skybluesblog: Pretty embarrassing from all involved tbf. You know the entire thing is avoidable when Liam Kitching becomes the voice of reason.

@colmbugler: Linesman knew exactly what he was doing but if players don’t understand where they can and cannot warm up then that’s on them.

@stefdcfc89: The linesman is meant to be there. Players being a dick

@JoeBurtonDurham: This is the most ‘Coventry’ thing I think I’ve ever seen. Linesman 100% in the right here btw, players should be warming up behind the goal or the other touchline