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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Douglas Whitbread & Graeme Murray

Leeds fan celebrates relegation survival by jumping in Thames and shattering his foot

A Leeds FC footie fan decided to stip to his undies and jump in the River Thames to celebrate his team's relegation survival - but ended up shattering his foot when it turned out it was only 3ft deep.

Johnnie Matthews, 36, shattered the heel of his right foot diving in the London river after making the 'stupid pact' while drinking with his mates before the game, despite not being able to swim.

But he immediately regretted his decision and a video recorded by a pal captures him screaming out in pain.

This came after Burnley were relegated from the Premier League when Leeds United beat Brentford 2-1 on the last day of the season.

Johnnie Matthews and his football pals sitting by the river Thames before the final day match (Johnnie Matthews / SWNS)

But the plumbing and heating engineer is now in hot water with his missus who will have to pick up extra shifts to cover the cost of him being off work.

Johnnie, a father-of-six, said: "I was terrified going into that game, and I stupidly said to the boys at some point during the day, 'If we stay up, I'm in the Thames.'"

"They were quick to remind me afterwards, but if the shoe was on the other foot, the exact same thing would have happened.

Johnnie Matthews takes the plunge into the River Thames (Johnnie Matthews / SWNS)

"I then found what I thought was the perfect spot, but I soon realised when I jumped in it was only 3ft deep.

"I'm a plumbing and heating engineer, and I have my own business, so I'm stuffed, basically. It's really not good. It's a decision I'm definitely regretting now.

"There's going to be a lot of extra strain on my wife to work some extra hours and bring some extra money in. I'm guessing she'll be a bit disappointed about that.

Johnnie Matthews with his son, Jack, in Leeds FC gear (Johnnie Matthews / SWNS)
(Johnnie Matthews / SWNS)

"I don't think anything shocks my wife when it comes to me. She won't tell me, but I'm pretty sure she's disappointed."

Johnnie hoped to quietly get out of the stunt amidst the scenes of wild jubilation, but his pals held him to his word and "goaded" him to take a dip in the water.

He picked a spot where he thought he could easily get in and out, but his feet slammed into the bottom, leaving his right heel completely "shattered".

Johnnie's ankle and foot following the injury (Johnnie Matthews / SWNS)
Johnnie's bandaged ankle and foot after his injury (Johnnie Matthews / SWNS)

The family man, who owns his own business and has an 18-month-old son, now doesn't expect to return to work for several weeks - and may even need surgery.

Johnnie, from Farnborough, Hants., said: "The pain was instant, and I knew straight away.

"As I hit the water, I came up and screamed, "I've hit my feet." And that's the point where he cuts the video.

"I tried to stand up but I couldn't, I just kept dropping to the floor again. So I ended up scurrying out on my hands and knees.

"Before the game, we were drinking in bars along the river Thames, so we were there all day - and it was the easy option to be fair.

"The football stadium's right on the river Thames - and it's just one of those things.

"Some fan sing, 'if a certain player scores, we're in the Thames' or 'if some player scores, we're on the pitch.'

Johnnie Matthews in a wheelchair following his accident (Johnnie Matthews / SWNS)
Johnnie Matthews at the door of his home (Johnnie Matthews / SWNS)

"It's dependent on where you are, and we just happened to be near the Thames, so that's what came out of me.

"They kept goading me to do it, but where we were walking, the water was disgusting, and I said, 'There's no way I'm getting in there.'

"And also, there was no way of getting back out, and I can't really swim.

"So I made a point of saying to the boys that I was going to find a spot where I knew I was confident I could get back out before I jumped in.

"And I found what I thought was the perfect spot - and it looked it."

To Johnnie's horror, when he stripped down to his underwear and leapt off a mental pontoon into the river, he found the water barely came up to his chest.

One of his pals called an ambulance, but Johnnie was instructed to go to a walk-in A&E centre as his injuries weren't a priority.

So with the help of his friends, he took a taxi to a nearby station and caught a train home, eventually getting to a hospital a couple of hours later.

He said: "It was a good three hours after it happened that I stepped foot in hospital - in absolute agony.

"I'm still waiting for a phone call from the doctors. There's a possibility I might need surgery, and I might need a plate put in my heel.

"The guy there said you've got to look at six weeks for any bone injury, but we don't know whether it will be shorter or longer than that."

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