Portsmouth FC will 'deal' with players after incident outside Astoria nightclub that saw police called

Staff at Astoria in Guildhall Walk, Portsmouth, said just after the club’s play-off ending defeat to Accrington Stanley on Sunday they refused entry to a group of players and staff as the venue was at its reduced Covid capacity.

Astoria management said there was ‘attitude’ directed at their staff at the group not being allowed in.

Moments later a 21-year-old University of Portsmouth student, who spoke with the group, fell unconscious. He suffered a ‘suspected concussion,’ police said.

Circumstances of the incident are unclear but police said no assault allegation has been made.

Officers and paramedics attended the Sunday night incident – just hours after the Blues ended the season at Fratton Park with a 1-0 loss – and he was taken to Queen Alexandra Hospital.

The student, who was spoken with by police yesterday, has not made an assault complaint. No arrests have been made over the incident.

A Portsmouth FC spokesman said: ‘The club are aware of an incident that occurred on Sunday evening.

‘We have spoken to the players involved to remind them of their responsibilities and will deal with the matter internally.

‘We will not be making any further comment.’

Club bosses and new manager Danny Cowley are understood to be frustrated over the incident which was reported at 11.17pm.

An Astoria management spokesman said that a party of people were refused entry.

He added: ‘A group of males... were refused entry to the premises. We were at capacity.

‘They hung around the door asking for entry and obviously we couldn't allow them in.’

He added: ‘(The incident with the student) was not in the premises.

‘We refused them entry and the incident happened out in the street.’

He confirmed the nightclub is working with Hampshire Constabulary.

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A police statement issued yesterday said: ‘We were called at 11.17pm on Sunday, May 9 to Guildhall Walk in Portsmouth where a 21 year-old man was being treated for a suspected concussion.

‘Officers spoke to a number of people in the area, but an assault complaint has not been received at the current time.

‘We will be speaking to the man who was treated again to establish what happened.'

A South Central Ambulance Service spokesman said: ‘Hampshire Police contacted us at 11.22pm to report that they had found a man unconscious on Guildhall Walk.

‘We sent an ambulance crew to the scene and took the patient to the QA Hospital for further assessment.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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