'Furious' Portsmouth boss apologises to Fratton faithful over Cardiff Krystian Bielik comments - and hits out at referee

John Mousinho has apologised to the Fratton faithful over his post-match comments following the Krystian Bielik incident.

And the head coach revealed he is ‘absolutely furious’ with Ben Speedie, believing he was misled by the referee over what actually happened in the controversial second-half moment.

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary are currently investigating whether a young Blues fan was the victim of a ‘common assault’ by Cardiff defender Bielik. Similarly Pompey and the FA are also looking into the incident.

Meanwhile, Mousinho upset a section of Pompey fans with his post-match comments to BBC Radio Solent when he apologised to Cardiff’s players - rather than addressing the alleged assault on a minor.

Mousinho insists that, at the time, he hadn’t fully seen footage of the altercation and instead had taken the word of Speedie over what had occurred.

Now, after being brought up to speed, he has apologised for his words to the media after the match.

‘There is absolutely no way I would have said what I said’

He told The News: ‘At some point on Saturday evening, when I got back was the first time I had seen the footage - and then I had a different perspective on the whole thing.

‘My biggest take at that point was what I had been told and my understanding of the incident wasn’t matching up to what I saw.

‘It’s a tricky one at the moment considering the incident isn’t something I feel I should be commenting on because of the fact it is an ongoing police investigation into the assault of a minor, which is extremely serious. So I will leave that one as it is.

‘However, had I been told something different or had I been able to see the incident before I spoke to the press on Saturday, there is absolutely no way I would have said what I said.

‘It was extremely frustrating because, when I come out for the post-match media, I represent the football club, so it’s not just me talking, it’s the football club. I speak for the team, I speak for the staff, I speak for everybody on the first-team side.

‘I also speak for the fans and, in that moment, my understanding and the right thing to do was based on what I had been told. So that was to make sure that Cardiff could come to a football match and not have their player subjected to what I was told they were subjected to. As soon as I saw it (the footage) I was absolutely furious at what I was told.

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‘I would never want one of the Pompey fans to be put into that situation to potentially be the victim of an assault - and all of a sudden your manager comes out and apologises on your behalf. That must have felt strange and I never want that to happen again.

‘We’ll see what the outcome is on that whole investigation, that’s nothing to do with me, that’s a police matter, an FA matter, an EFL matter.

‘But I think the fans know me well enough to know that I would never have said what I said if I had at least had a different view on the incident.’

‘Caution against speculation’

In a statement issued on Sunday afternoon, Pompey confirmed they are investigating the incident, although have ‘urged caution against speculation’ while enquiries progress.

On the same day, the FA admitted they were aware of the altercation, yet were waiting for the referee’s report before proceeding.

While Hampshire police have confirmed they are ‘investigating an incident in which a teenage boy was reportedly the victim of a common assault during the football match at Fratton Park’.

Mousinho added: ‘The one thing I do know, having spoken to Andy (Cullen) on Sunday night, is the club have been in constant contact with the fan from a safeguarding perspective, just making sure there’s multiple clarity on both sides about what’s going on.

‘When the dust settles and everything has been concluded and we’ve got an outcome, I think that’s going to be the most appropriate time for me to fully comment on everything.

‘It should have been a really enjoyable Saturday night for everyone and unfortunately it wasn’t. It’s not about me, none of it is about me and how I felt and what I said, but I just want to make sure the fans - particularly the one fan that was involved in the altercation - know why I said what I said.

‘Hopefully off the back of this everybody will understand I was purely acting based on what the referee told me.’

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