Cardiff City boss responds as Krystian Bielik clashes with Portsmouth fan
Controversy surfaced as a Cardiff player clashed with a Pompey fan at Fratton Park this afternoon.
The incident took place in the second half of the Blues’ 2-0 win over their Championship rivals, as Cardiff defender Krystian Bielik appeared to grab a young supporter by the throat.
The encounter took place with the ball out of play, with the fan seemingly reacting to being grabbed by Bielik with a slap and his team-mate Perry Ng hit by a ball as it was thrown back onto the pitch.
Cardiff City player appears to grab young Pompey fan, prompting slap in response
That led to a stoppage in play and referee Ben Speedie speaking to staff from both sides before play continued.
Cardiff boss Brian Barry-Murphy stated this evening he expects the FA to put in play the ‘correct processes’ following the incident.
He said: ‘Krystian went to get the ball back from the stands and got slapped in the face.
‘I wanted to make sure he (Bielik) was protected and make sure he was okay, which he is.
‘I thought the referee and his staff handled the incident impeccably.
‘I was assured by him the correct processes will take place.
‘He said he’d seen everything which occurred really clearly, so he diffused the situation and implemented the correct processes from there.
‘The players are always subjected to different things that’s not acceptable.
‘My job is to protect the players, but really I’m trying to make sure that we play well and win.
‘I’m sure the FA will look at it and implement the correct processes.’