Middlesbrough FC have banned a supporter for life after he encouraged his son to trespass during a game last weekend.
Last Saturday's Championship fixture against Stoke City was halted after the young fan entered the Riverside Stadium pitch. He went and approached home player Marcus Tavernier for a photo and the game had to be stopped as he made his way back off the pitch. Boro ran out 3-1 winners to maintain their hopes of qualifying for the play-offs.
But a club statement has since been released confirming the young fan's father has now been barred from attending home games for good. The club say the father was "abusive and threatening" towards stewards, who had asked the pair to leave the ground.
The statement on Boro's website read: "During our game on Saturday against Stoke City a child entered the field of play while the match was in progress, trivialising the importance of the game to our fans, town, players and management.
"He was encouraged to do so by his father who recorded the incident on his mobile phone. On returning to his father our staff asked that they exit the stadium, only to be subject to abusive and threatening behaviour. Entering the pitch while the game is in progress will not be tolerated. Abusive and threatening behaviour to our staff will not be tolerated. To enter the pitch at any time is a criminal offence as is abusive and threatening behaviour.
"The father and child have been identified and with immediate effect the father is banned from the Riverside Stadium for life. We will encourage the police to take further action. After the game four further incursions took place by children. All of whom have been identified and whose parents face banning orders from the Riverside."
Manager Chris Wilder was also far from happy at the incident, suggesting future stoppages during matches could heavily affect his side's bid for promotion.
He said: "I am a little bit disappointed with the boy who ran on the pitch. That didn’t get a clap from me - I think you saw my reaction - be respectful of the football pitch and the football match. There's possibly 5,000 youngsters who watches us, which was great to see, and they would have loved that same opportunity - but they didn't do it because they've been respectful. That could be important. An extra minute going on at the end because someone has interrupted the game, it is just not acceptable."
This is not the first time that a game at the Riverside has had to be halted due to a pitch invasion. One young fan hurdled the advertising hoardings during the fixture with Derby County earlier this year, in order to get a selfie with Rams' boss Wayne Rooney. Meanwhile, a 34-year-old Boro fan was recently handed a three-year banning order for running onto the pitch before their game with Hull City.
