Making opposition players feel unwelcome is part and parcel of being a football fan. But sometimes a small minority take their intimidation tactics way too far.
And so it was in May 2022 when a Nottingham Forest supporter decided to headbutt Sheffield United's Billy Sharp, following the Tricky Trees' triumph over the Blades in the Championship play-off semi-finals.
Sharp was knocked to the ground and required stitches in the wound, while his assailant was later arrested and jailed for 24 weeks. Sharp, who hadn't played in the match and had merely been watching, had formerly played one season at Forest. The incident shocked English football but, thankfully, Sharp hasn't appeared to suffer any long-term effects.
"I wasn’t involved in the game as I was injured, but I was making sure that all of our players got off the pitch when their fans started running over," recalls Sharp of the incident.
"I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Some mindless idiot just caught me unawares – I wasn’t expecting it at all.
"A policeman came dashing across to see if I was OK; he had a bodycam on and I remember thinking, ‘Don’t worry about me – get after the bloke who hit me’. It obviously wasn’t a nice thing to happen. A small number of idiots can go too far sometimes. Sadly, it was me at the centre of that incident."
Forest, who issued a public apology to Sharp and banned the fan from the City Ground for life, were promoted after defeating Huddersfield Town 1-0 at Wembley. The Blades meanwhile, were promoted back to the Premier League at the end of last season.
Sharp is currently playing for Hull City, back in the Championship, after being released by Sheffield United at the end of last term.
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