Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira could face punitive action from the Football Association (FA) for his reactions to a heckler at the end of a scintillating away fixture at Goodison Park on Thursday.
Watch: Patrick Vieira loses it during Everton pitch invasion.
Everton needed a victory to secure a place in the Premier League next season, and after going two goals down to Palace, tensions were palpable in the stadium.
However, a show-stopping comeback from the Toffees, spearheaded by Michael Keane, Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, was enough to break fans’ nerves, and at the final whistle, chaos erupted.
Everton fans invaded the pitch, overpowering security officials to embrace their players for executing a crucial turnaround. Generally, pitch invasions are shunned and, most times, the football club bears the brunt, but in this case, Everton may be more than happy to settle that bill if it means keeping the morale at fever pitch for the next season.
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However, the Toffees may not be able to defend the behaviour exhibited by this fan, who was caught on camera mocking Vieira. He held a phone in the Crystal Palace manager’s face and, most likely, was spewing derogatory insults and, at some point, Vieira saw red and attacked the harasser.
Patrick Vieira kicking an Everton fan to the ground 🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/p6fVvYnzTd
— Breezy (@UtdBreezy) May 19, 2022
Neither Vieira nor the Everton fan sustained life-threatening injuries from the fiery encounter. Both clubs have yet to issue a formal statement on the incident. But, according to experts, the Palace manager could face penalties for his actions.
