New footage shows fan in tears after ‘moment of madness’ as EFL star kicks bottle at their head

Jordan Thompson could face punishment after kicking a water bottle at the head of a Norwich City supporter.

The midfielder was substituted in the 65th minute for Preston North End during their 2-0 Championship defeat on Saturday.

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Footage posted by Sky Sports shows Thompson walking off the pitch at Carrow Road and shaking hands with club staff.

Before sitting on the bench, the Northern Ireland international sees a bottle on the ground and kicks it in apparent frustration.

It flies into the stand and hits the head of an unsuspecting Norwich fan who was having a drink at the time.

Some visibly furious supporters turned towards Thompson, with one man in particular appearing to mouth expletives in his direction.

Thompson is then seen standing closer to the fans and appears to apologise to the affected supporter, who seemed to be in tears.

No action was taken at the time, but the Football Association could charge the 29-year-old for his actions.

Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher reviewed the bottle kick on Ref Watch for Sky Sports, and said: “Why would you do this?

“Whether he’ll be reprimanded today, I don’t know, but you look at that… the referee hasn’t seen it because the substitution has been made, the assistant has got his back to it.

“So, he’s lucky he doesn’t get seen because it would be a red card on the day, without doubt. But doing that is just so dangerous, you see it just hit somebody.

“Somebody was having a drink as well, wasn’t aware. It’s a moment of madness.”

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Booting the bottle

Thompson certainly isn’t the first man on the touchline to take their anger out on a water bottle mid-match.

In 2018, Unai Emery was fined £8,000 by the FA after kicking a bottle at a Brighton fan during his managerial tenure at Arsenal.

Emery, who was charged with improper conduct, apologised and shook their hand at full-time.

Pep Guardiola was also involved in a similar incident whilst in the dugout for Manchester City against Leeds United in 2022.

He accidentally kicked it towards the Leeds bench and appeared to hit one of their members of staff.

An embarrassed Guardiola then immediately ran over to apologise.