Fan throws flare on linesman during Aston Villa-Tottenham Hotspur game

West Midlands Police have arrested two men after assistant referee David Bryan was hit on the back of his neck by a flare thrown from the Tottenham supporters’ end during their match against Aston Villa at Villa Park on Sunday.

Bryan was able to continue the rest of the game without receiving treatment, however smoke from the flare delayed the game from restarting.

Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas said: “It is not great to see. It should be avoided completely. It touched the linesman and situations like this don’t have a place in football. I sincerely hope it doesn’t happen again.”

A Football Association spokesman said: “The FA will investigate this matter, which is unacceptable. We will await the match officials’ report and will be speaking to the clubs. Such incidents highlight the dangers of pyrotechnics being used in a football stadium.”

In August,  Policing Minister Damian Green had said, “Football fans who smuggle flares and smoke bombs into matches are putting the safety of fellow supporters at serious risk. The devices – often manufactured for legitimate military, maritime or transport purposes – can burn as hot as 1,600 degrees celsius for as long as an hour.”

In February, a 14-year-old boy was killed by a flare thrown by supporters during a South American Libertadores Cup match in Oruro, Bolivia.