WATCH: Crazed Soccer Fan Kicks Arsenal’s Goalie At End Of Match

A soccer fan kicked Arsenal goalie Aaron Ramsdale following his match against Tottenham Hotspur in the North London Derby over the weekend.

After the referee blew his whistle to signal the end of the match on Sunday afternoon at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Tottenham forward Richarlison de Andrade got in Ramsdale’s face and wagged his finger at him. Richarlison shoved Ramsdale, and a security guard got between the two players before the incident escalated further. The Arsenal goalie went past the net to retrieve his water bottle, and a fan jumped over the railing and stood on top of the billboard, and kicked Ramsdale in the back. Another security guard shoved the fan off the billboard, and the fan ran off through the crowd.

“Those who should not be penetrating the playing surface are daring to do so, and that helps nobody,” play-by-play announcer Peter Drury said. “The immediate concern though is for the safety, the well-being of Aaron Ramsdale, who has played so very well today and needs to get away from that end of the field.”

Arsenal’s coaching staff had to restrain their players from reaching the end of the pitch where Tottenham’s fan base was seated, behind Ramsdale’s net.

“I think Aaron Ramsdale went to get his water bottle from behind the goal, and obviously, that’s the Tottenham end, and maybe something was said, and that’s what seemed to spark everybody from the bench running over there and trying to find out what was going on, but thankfully it’s all settled down,” Lee Dixon added.

After players left the pitch, Ramsdale met with the media and described the kick to his back as a “little punch in the back.”

“It’s a shame because it’s only a game of football at the end of the day,” Ramsdale said. “Both sets of players tried to bring me away. Thankfully nothing happened too drastically. It leaves a sour taste, but I’m sure we’ll enjoy it when we go back to the dressing room.”

The Professional Footballers’ Association released a statement less than an hour after Ramsdale was kicked. That statement read:

Violence towards players is completely unacceptable. These types of incidents are happening far too often.

Players have a right to be safe in their place of work. When a player is attacked we expect the laws and regulations that are in place to protect them to be properly enforced.

As the players’ union we treat this as a priority issue. We will be continuing to work with the authorities to demand that players and staff are better protected in their place of work.

In a statement, the Tottenham Hotspur Football Club said:

The club has reviewed its CCTV footage to identify the supporter and will be working with the Met Police, Arsenal and Aaron Ramsdale to take the strongest possible action, including an immediate ban from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Another angle from behind the net showed the fan walk over seats in the section, kick Ramsdale in the back, and quickly escape. The man used a scarf to cover his face when he made a break for the exits.

Watch above via Peacock on NBC.

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