York players took to chant about Hiram Boateng punching a fan at Rochdale, and a new video from DAZN shows a closer look at the incident.
‘He smacks who he wants’ chants rang out as Hiram Boateng and the York City players celebrated promotion with the fans at the LNER Community Stadium.
A post shared by DAZN Fútbol on Instagram went viral, with the moment capturing attention of those across Europe it would seem.
The Minstermen won promotion to League Two last weekend with a 1-1 draw. Rochdale thought they won it in the 95th minute which would have seen them promoted, but York equalised in the 103rd minute to go up. More on that HERE.
View this post on Instagram
After being denied the chance to have a bus parade, the club instead held a celebration event for thousands of fans at the LNER Community Stadium on Wednesday. It was also live on BBC iPlayer. A live blog on that HERE.
York said in a statement: “Following lengthy discussions with both the council and police, it has been made clear that a bus parade around the city centre would not be a possible option to celebrate our National League triumph.
“As disappointing as this is, we have been working extremely hard to still hold an event for fans to gather and to be able to celebrate this moment with the club.
“With that, we have worked at length with the SMC, and we can confirm that a promotion party will be taking place this Wednesday at the LNER.”
‘He smacks who he wants’ chants ring out as Harami Boateng and the @YorkCityFC players celebrates promotion with the fans. #ycfc pic.twitter.com/t4xhzT9tmW
— Arif Ahmed (@ArifAhmedITV) April 29, 2026
YORK ARE GOING UP OLE OLEEEEE#YCFC🔴🔵 pic.twitter.com/Bg4tx07Zye
— York City F(C) (@YorkCityFC) April 29, 2026
York also spoke in support of Boateng, saying: “York City Football Club would like to make the following comment regarding one of our players in the aftermath of our last-minute goal at Rochdale.
“The ending to Saturday’s game at Rochdale has, understandably, been seen around the world and held up as an example of what is so special about our game. The fans played a huge part in that, and for all those in the stadium, it was a unique emotional rollercoaster that will never be forgotten.
“Given that emotion and the stakes involved, we appreciate the enormous challenges that came with policing and securing a game of such obvious importance. In front of a passionate, sell-out crowd, those challenges became even more significant when the game concluded in the way that it did.
“The safety of players, staff, officials, and fans must always be the priority, and it is important to recognise all those in the stadium who worked to ensure that was the case.
“It will be important in the coming days for there to be a proper reflection and assessment of the circumstances around the end of the game, what happened and what can be learned. As a club, we are committed to assisting with any review, and we will support all our players and staff in contributing to this.
“YCFC will be supporting Hiram through all proceedings.”
Love u Hiram, we all support you pic.twitter.com/rOdu8XKPsj
— G (C)🏆 (@georgeg6185) April 27, 2026
GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE:
Four men have been charged following reports of an incident at the end of the Rochdale AFC v York City match on Saturday (25/04/26)
Kiean Sultan (19/01/08) of Thirlmere Drive, Middleton has been charged with pitch encroachment, and Section 4 of the Public Order Act.
Aaron Dawson (24/05/1994) of Smithies Street, Heywood, has been charged with two counts of Section 4B of the Public Order Act.
Sam Manicolo (27/09/2007) of Hollins Drive, Middleton, has been charged with pitch encroachment.
Thomas Coleman (28/09/2002) of Blenheim Street, Rochdale has been charged with pitch encroachment.
One man was arrested and de-arrested at the scene.
They have all been bailed, due to appear at Manchester and Salford Magistrates on 18 August 2026
Police said, per BBC Sport, that they are aware of a video of the York City player punching a fan: “We are aware of a video that is circulating of a possible assault involving a player and we have linked in with both clubs and the National League.”
“We will be further assessing the video and reviewing CCTV of the incident.”
Rochdale said they were aware of the video: “This is a police matter and the club will be making no further comment at this time.”
Here’s how fans reacted after York players chant about Hiram Boateng punching a fan while a new video from DAZN shows the incident…
@newbold_matty: Hiram was assaulted and he stuck up for himself, end of story. The only person that should be getting into trouble is that scumbag of a fan
@OsamaBinFarten1: Good statement. Fans can’t attack players. It’s unrealistic to expect players to not defend themselves.
@itfcrg: doing anything other than supporting the player in this situation would be a complete disgrace. just look at the replies ffs, everybody is on his side. not the disgusting behaviour of the fan.
@escrickite: Surely there will be no “proceedings” the man was attacked and simply defended himself, under the circumstances I think anybody would have done the same!!!! That “supporter” shouldn’t I believe have “entered the field of play” in the first place never mind assaulting a player????
@deancummings24: I’ve already gave my opinion on this on other social media. For all Hiram knows, the Rochdale thug could of been armed with a weapon. He had already stormed the pitch for one and then attacked a player. I believe Hiram reacted the only way he could to defend himself.
@Jameschris179: It’s quite simple. The fan should never be on the pitch in the first place. The fan also pins the player down. The player in question was acting in self defence, whist the fan was criminally encroaching the pitch, and committed assault. Very lengthy stadium ban incoming!
@LibConHenry:
Quite simply 2 things
1. Hiram was attacked by the fan, and he got up and defended himself
2. If the police and stewards did their job and stopped the pitch invasion it wouldn’t have happened and Dale would’ve won the league
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