A seven-year-old Hull City fan was injured after being struck in the face by a flare that was thrown into the crowd during a Championship match at Barnsley on Saturday.
Police initially said they believed the flare had been thrown by another Hull City fan, and on Saturday evening a 17-year-old boy presented himself to the Humberside force.
“A 17-year-old boy has presented himself to Clough Road Police Station tonight and will now be questioned in connection with the incident,” a Humberside Police statement said.
Police also confirmed that the incident, which happened shortly before half-time, left the child with minor injuries, with the seven-year-old able to return to watch the remainder of the match after receiving treatment.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Chief Inspector Blake Neale said: “Behaviour of this nature will not be tolerated as families should feel safe to be able to go to watch their teams play without the fear of this type of incident.”
Embed from Getty ImagesA spokesperson for Barnsley said: “Barnsley FC do not tolerate such actions from any individual(s) and will continue to assist South Yorkshire Police with their investigation.”
A non-League match had to be abandoned on Friday after a firework exploded on the pitch and struck one of the players.
Hashtag United posted footage on social media showing the incident during a reserve team match with Concord Rangers on Friday night. Footballer Matas Skrna narrowly avoided serious injury after the firework landed near him on the turf, with the sparks from the explosion striking his legs.
He collapsed to the floor clutching his legs and was surrounded by concerned teammates.
A further two fireworks landed near the pitch and the match at the Len Salmon Stadium in Basildon, Essex, was abandoned, with Hashtag United’s reserves leading 2-0.
We expect fireworks whenever @hashtagutd play but not like this!
— Hashtag United (@hashtagutd) November 5, 2021
Our player, Matas Skrna, is luckily ok but this could have been bad!
Game abandoned at 2-0 up as house where fireworks came from refused to stop. Two more landed near pitch. Police have been notified. Stay safe. pic.twitter.com/YP22OaLDb6
YouTuber Spencer Owen, who founded Hashtag United in 2016, tweeted that “a few inches different and our lad could have been blinded”.
“Yet another reason to add to the list of reasons to sack off fireworks,” he added. “Dog owners know exactly what I’m saying. Glad Matas is ok.”
A club spokesperson said that a volunteer had gone to a nearby house and asked if they could halt their fireworks.
They said the household carried on with their display, which led to the match being abandoned, after which the fireworks stopped.
Another football match was disrupted by fireworks on Friday when Waterford’s game against Shamrock Rovers in the Irish Premier League was temporarily halted.
Hull City won the match 2-0, despite this the celebrations would have been very different had anything happened to the child.
