'It was a bit wild - but doesn't sum up a whole fanbase': Portsmouth defender on shocking Port Vale scenes as referee targeted

Conor Shaughnessy labelled Port Vale scenes ‘wild’ after a supporter invaded the pitch to chase the referee.

There was late controversy at Vale Park when Colby Bishop netted an 88th minute penalty to give the League One leaders a precious victory.

In the build up, fans were incensed at Shaughnessy’s tackle on Ethan Chislett which set the move in motion, culminating in Abu Kamara adjudged to have been fouled inside the box.

In the aftermath, a supporter broke onto the pitch and ran towards referee Craig Hicks, with the official forced to race off the pitch for his own protection.

The Vale supporter was captured, with the club swiftly releasing a statement condemning the actions and pledging to work with the authorities.

And Shaughnessy was shocked at what he witnessed during the 1-0 win.

He told The News: ‘I’ve never seen anything like it, it was a bit wild, I’m glad the referee’s got out of the way of it and the security have done their job.

‘When the ref was running away, I thought “Is there a streaker on the pitch?” - and clearly there wasn’t. This guy was making a beeline for the ref.

‘It’s very rare, it’s poor from that one individual, I don’t think that sums up the whole fanbase.

‘One individual let himself down and it should never come to that, whether the ref has made some good decisions, some bad decisions, it should just be left on the football field, there shouldn’t be any interference.

‘He made a good decision with my tackle leading up to the penalty and, while I haven't seen the penalty back, I thought it was one at the time.

‘I got the ball, I don’t think the player had any complaints, he was late to it if anything and rolled around.

‘That was where the initial moan was and the penalty was straight after. All things exploded after that tackle.’

Pompey’s 1-0 win leaves them two points clear of second-placed Bolton, although the Trotters have two games in hand.

Shaughnessy added: ‘I thanked the referee after the game, although earlier had a couple of words with him where I thought I was hard done-by and we were hard done-by where we could have got different calls.

‘I didn’t think he was that bad, it’s a difficult job, he has to make split-second decisions, it’s always tough.

‘We’ve had a couple go against us and we’ll have a couple go for us, hopefully it balances itself out through the season.’