Premier League boss fined for ‘kicking ball that hit Sky Sports floor manager’

Premier League match manager Rupert Bush had to take evasive action, and the ball struck Sky Sports floor manager Tony Murtagh, who was able to put his hand up to deflect it

The Football Association have fined Wolverhampton Wanderers head coach Vitor Pereira £15,000 for kicking a ball that struck a Sky Sports floor manager. The incident occurred during their 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion earlier this month.

Match referee Jarred Gillett sent Pereira off as a result, and Wolves went on to open the scoring a minute later. The referee explained afterwards, as per the written reasons of his misconduct charge: “In the 20th minute of the match, I didn’t award a free kick to Wolves in the middle of the pitch and play continued.

“Whilst play continued, approximately 15 seconds later, Paul Tierney, the Fourth Official, informed me that the manager of Wolves (Vitor Pereira) had to be shown the red card at the next stoppage in play. As play continued from this non-foul decision, Pereira left the technical area and kicked a ball towards the direction of the Sky Sports/match manager’s dugout.

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“The match manager had to take evasive action, and the ball struck the Sky Sports floor manager. I stopped play in the 21st minute of the match to award a free kick to Wolves near the touchline closest to the Brighton technical area, and showed the yellow card to number 17 of Brighton (Baleba) for this challenge. At this stoppage, I then showed the red card to Pereira, who left the technical area without any further incident”.

The explanation from Pereira reads as follows: “In summary, it was Mr Pereira’s position that his actions were not in response to any decisions of the referee but the actions of one of his players who had lost the ball and exposed the team to a set of counterattacks. It was submitted that this frustration was further exacerbated as he had expressly instructed him not to play in this manner before this incident.

“It was in this frustration that he kicked out at the spare ball that was close to him. He did not intend to kick the ball in any particular direction, other than obviously the field of play.

“There was no malicious intent, but it was reckless as to the consequences of his actions. It was submitted that it was a temporary lack of emotional control.”

The written reasons also state that “The club submissions relied on a number of previous cases with similar facts, as well as the pressures Mr Pereira was under, given the club’s precarious league position and the job insecurity associated with this.”

Regarding the fine, “having considered all of the aggravating and mitigating factors, it was agreed (by an independent Regulatory Commission) that a financial sanction was appropriate. … With regard to the majority position, it was their position that Mr Pereira had accepted the charge at the earliest opportunity. He had immediately apologised after the incident, was contrite and reflective of his conduct.”

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