Portsmouth and Birmingham City players separated as tempers flare during end-of-season dead-rubber at Fratton Park
Row between Portsmouth and Birmingham players breaks out during dead-rubber game at Fratton Park
Pompey and Birmingham players had to be pulled apart as tempers flared during their dead-rubber end-of-season game at Fratton Park on Saturday.
Players from both sides, including substitutes, had to be separated 10 minutes before the end as individuals squared up to each other following a shot on goal by the Blues’ Adrian Segecic that sparked anger among City’s players.
The visitors were angry after the Pompey forward made the most of a mix-up between keeper James Beadle and defender Bright Osayi-Samuel after Birmingham were handed possession back following a injury to Christoph Klarer.
Both Brum players appeared to want the other to take control of the ball and as they dithered, Segecic ran onto it before firing a shot narrowly over from an accute angle.
His intervention, though, didn’t go down well with the visitors, with Beadle among those who angrily confronted the Croatia under-21 international.
That led to most players on the pitch descending onto the corner of the field infront of the Fratton End and South Stand, with some having to be robustly separated as tempers boliled over.
After the interuption to play and the dust had settled, match official John Brooks booked both Segecic and Osayi-Samuel for their roles in the incident.
Manager’s John Mousinho and Chris Davies were also booked.
Up until that point, the game was very much an end-of-season affair with little excitment apart from the two first-half goals scored by Segecic (eight minutes) and August Priske (19).
However, the scuffle showed the players still had plenty of passion left of them as they had one eye on their summer holidays.
In the end, though, it didn’t spark the game into life in the final 10 minutes, with the score ending 1-1.
For your next Pompey read: Neil Allen’s Pompey player ratings.