Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieria will not face any charges for the incident involving him and an Everton fan on the Goodison Park pitch on Thursday night.
The Eagles boss was involved in an altercation with a pitch invader while trying to get back down the tunnel following his side’s 3-2 defeat to Everton. Vieira was spotted on cameras being goaded by the fan before kicking out in his direction, with footage from the supporters’ point of view showing him fall to the ground.
Merseyside Police has now announced that neither Vieira or the fan involved wished to make a formal complaint about the incident nor wants a prosecution to follow after they were spoken to by officers, meaning the enquiry into the matter has now closed.
READ MORE: Patrick Vieira responds to Everton pitch invasion confrontation and sends FA clear warning
A statement read: “Merseyside Police has concluded enquiries into an altercation on the pitch following the Everton vs Crystal Palace match on Thursday (19 May). We worked with Everton FC to gather all available CCTV footage and spoke to witnesses. Officers have spoken to both men involved and the opportunity to make a formal complaint or support a prosecution was declined.”
Vieira did not address the matter during his post-match press conference following the defeat to the Toffees but did speak about it on Sunday afternoon after his side’s 1-0 win over Manchester United. The Frenchman called on the Football Association and the Premier League to give more support to clubs on the issue of pitch invasions, warning that something worse could happen if allowed to carry on.
“The Everton incident is bigger than (just) that incident,” he said. “There was a lot of pitch invasions that caused trouble. There are real issues here to reflect on and see the best ways to manage it. You don’t know what can happen. When you don’t know what can happen you fear for anything, for the players.
“We want to be safe and the best way is to find the best way for those kind of things not to happen. We want to be safe in our workplace. There is a big issue for the FA and Premier League to deal with. They need the support and the club and players to get involved as well. It’s not only the FA. Everybody has to take responsibility and see the best way for those things not to happen.”
