Forest Green Rovers chairman and major shareholder Dale Vince has claimed that he is responsible for the funding behind a protest group that recently disrupted an Everton match at Goodison Park.
Everton's home game with Newcastle United last Thursday was brought to a long halt in the second half after a spectator ran on to the pitch and attached himself to the goal post in front of the Gwladys Street Stand.
The protestor attached a plastic zip-tie to the goalpost and tightly around his neck while wearing a T-shirt bearing the words, 'Just Stop Oil'. Similar protests have been attempted at numerous Premier League stadiums across the country in recent weeks.
READ MORE: Why protestor attached himself to goalpost during Everton against Newcastle United
READ MORE: Two men arrested after Everton match pitch invaders force game to stop
Louis McKechnie, 21, of Claremount Road, Weymouth was charged with pitch encroachment and aggravated trespass and is due to attend Liverpool Community Justice Court on Tuesday, April 19.
However, speaking to talkSPORT on Wednesday, Vince claimed that he was the man who had offered the initial funding behind the 'Just Stop Oil' campaign, and admitted being "amused" to see the disruption to Premier League matches that had occurred.
He told Jim White and Simon Jordan's show: "It's (the funding) me, actually. I had a chat a few weeks ago with the people who founded this. They reached out and they said they were starting up a new campaign and needed help with a bit of cash, so I did.
"What they didn't say to me was that they were planning to disrupt football matches, which I find amusing. I only bumped into this story in the last couple of days anyway - the fact that disruption had taken place - because I'm more interested in League Two.
"But it's amusing to me that I actually seem to have my fingerprints on this accidentally. I'm accidentally funding the disruption of Premier League games.
"What I'm telling you is when I spoke to them they didn't tell me this is what they planned to do, and they didn't need to.
"I don't try to control what people do when I help them with their campaigns, but it kind of amused me to discover that this group that I helped get going was doing this in the world of football.
"They haven't asked for any more money, I think it was about £10,000 or something like that to get them going, I don't know if they need a lot of money. I support their aims, I don't really have a problem with what they're doing.
"As long as it's non-violent protests, disruption is part and parcel of protests and how you get attention to really big issues that transcend football and most aspects of life."
