Disabled Sheffield United fan Richard Rourke speaks on being hit by a bottle and knocked from his wheelchair at Hull City on Sunday afternoon.
The Blades produced a 2-0 victory to stay top of the Championship table, however the game was marred by a number of incidents at the game, one of which happened to Richard, chairman of the Sheffield United Disabled Supporters Association.
He told The Star this week how he was watching the game when he was hit in the groin and neck by coins thrown from the home supporters’ section. Then he had been struck on the head by a full bottle, sending him out of his chair and onto the ground.
It’s reported that escaped being seriously injured but just ended up with a few bruises, however it could have easily been worse, and he’s since condemned the missiles thrown from end of supporters into another.
“We saw some objects flying across from the Hull fans and I was hit by coins in the groin and then the neck, before a full bottle hit me in the head, knocking me out of my chair,” he said.
“My daughter was there and along with other supporters and the police she shielded me from any other objects being thrown. The police then helped me get to the concourse where the paramedics checked me over. I’d like to thank everyone who helped, as they were all fantastic.
“Other disabled fans were hit by coins too, and on the concourse I saw Sheffield United supporters being treated by paramedics after being cut by coins.
“What happened is ridiculous. I’ve been all over the country following Sheffield United and I’ve never been subjected to such a bombardment before.
“One of the Hull stewards said ‘your fans did throw a flare into the Hull fans’ but I replied ‘you’re trying to justify me being hit with a bottle by saying our fans let a flare off?’.
“The Hull fans could see where the disabled supporters were, without a shadow of a doubt, and anybody throwing something must have known there was a chance they’d hit a disabled supporter.”
The fan recalls the moment he was moved towards the front of the stands, where he was able to watch the rest of the game, and says a police officer told him the person who threw the bottle had been identified and another officer was ‘going to visit him’.
“As chairman of the Sheffield United Disabled Supporters Association, I tell our members it’s quite safe to go to away games, and by and large that’s true, but the behaviour of Hull fans yesterday really shocked me. I think I might give Hull a miss in the future,” he said.
“My head’s still sore today and my shoulder’s a bit sore too but thankfully other than that I’m OK.”
The disabled fan has praised Sheffield United for calling him on Monday to check he was OK but said he had heard nothing from Hull City since the match.
A Humberside Police spokesman: “We are aware of a number of reported incidents that are said to have occurred during yesterday’s football match between Hull City and Sheffield United.
“We are working closely with both clubs to investigate the circumstances of these incidents.”
A Sheffield United spokesperson said: “We are aware of a number of incidents in the fixture at the MKM Stadium on Sunday. We are in dialogue with our supporters, Hull City and the police as the investigations continue.”
Heckingbottom said in his post-match interview there is no place in football for racism: “When the lads were warming up there are allegations of racist abuse, which the boys heard and reported it.
“We have just been in with the referee now. We followed the process and reported it and Matt [Donohue] was great, he showed good empathy towards Kyron.
“It’s disappointing. We are talking about two young players here. We know there is no place for it. I am not speaking bad here of Hull City supporters, I am speaking about football in general. There’s no place for it and it’s not nice.
“We followed the process. We have gone through the right channels and it’s been reported. [Oliver] Arblaster was there and he witnessed it. By all accounts it wasn’t hidden. It was blatantly obvious.”
A Hull City spokesman said: “We are aware of a number of incidents between fans that occurred during our match against Sheffield United, and are supporting Humberside Police with their investigations. We will not be commenting further at this time.”
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