Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof was hit by an object thrown from the crowd while celebrating his side’s equalizer in the FA Cup final today, June 3, which was won by Manchester City.
A controversial VAR decision had handed the Reds a penalty after Manchester City attacker Jack Grealish was deemed to have committed a handball offence following Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s header.
Bruno Fernandes coolly stepped up to slot the ball away to make it 1-1 on 33 minutes after Ilkay Gundogan’s opener for City after 12 seconds, a record for the quickest goal scored in an FA Cup final.
While celebrating the equalizer in front of the Manchester City supporters, an object which appeared to be a lighter was thrown from the end where the Manchester City fans were sitting and hit Lindelof near his left eye.
Lindelof hit by City fans with what looks like a lighter. pic.twitter.com/dJcbnRK96T
— ☈ッ (@TheFergusonWay) June 3, 2023
The centre-back immediately went down clutching his face, while replays showed a green object struck thrown from the crowd struck him. As Lindelof was checked on by his teammates, both Fernandes and Casemiro could be seen furiously shouting at somebody who was not on camera.
While on punditry duty for the BBC, Peter Schmeichel commented on the incident, saying;
“That is so wrong. That’s bad. I’m not blaming Manchester City – it is somebody – but we are at the Manchester City end, they were celebrating in front of the Manchester City supporters, and they should be big enough, they’re winning enough, to understand it’s okay to go 1-1.
“They shouldn’t react like that. That is terrible, it should have consequences. I hope they find the guy, whoever did that.”
Alan Shearer, also on the pundits’ panel, added: “We don’t want to see that.”
United were able to keep the score level at 1-1 heading into the break, but City scored once again soon after play restarted.
Gundogan netted his second of the day from a Kevin De Bruyne corner, with his shot beating David de Gea in the opposition goal. Erik ten Hag’s side continued to seek another equaliser as the clock ticked down.
Their effort was not enough as City went on to win the FA Cup with a 2-1 victory and complete the double following their Premier League success.
Confirming the incident, the Metropolitan Police announced that they’ve launched an investigation. A tweet shared by the police read;
“We are aware of an incident earlier at the [FA Cup Final] where an object was thrown towards the pitch during the first half of the game. We are working with officials [at Wembley Stadium] and reviewing CCTV footage.”
We are aware of an incident earlier at the #EmiratesFACup where an object was thrown towards the pitch during the first half of the game. We are working with officials @wembleystadium and reviewing CCTV footage.
— Metropolitan Police Events (@MetPoliceEvents) June 3, 2023
While City will now set their sights on a treble as they prepare for the Champions League final against Inter Milan next weekend, United on the other hand will have to settle for just one trophy this season, the Carabao Cup that they won in February.
United, of course, are the only club to win the three trophies in one season, doing so in 1999 under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson.
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