Man charged after tying himself to goal post in protest during Everton-Newcastle | Football News

A man has been charged after tying himself to a goal post during Everton’s Premier League game against Newcastle on Thursday night, delaying the match for several minutes.

A statement from Merseyside Police said: “A man from Weymouth has been charged following reports that a man ran on to the pitch at the Everton vs Newcastle United Premier League fixture at Goodison last night (Thursday 17 March).

“At around 8.55pm it was reported that a man disrupted the match by running onto the pitch and tying himself to the goal post at the Howard Kendall Gwladys Street End.

“Louis McKechnie, 21, was charged with Pitch Encroachment and Aggravated Trespass and is due to attend Liverpool Community Justice Court on Tuesday 19 April 2022.

“He has been bailed and is banned from attending any venue being used for a regulated football match in England and Wales, any sporting venues being used for a televised event in England and Wales and any venues being used for a televised event in England and Wales.”

The second half was barely five minutes old when the game was stopped for the incident at the Gwladys Street End and the protester was removed only after half a dozen people and bolt croppers were deployed.

The man was then led away by police and stewards before the game was restarted, with Alex Iwobi’s stoppage-time goal securing a vital 1-0 win for the 10-man hosts.

A second man, 39, who appeared to confront the protester, was also arrested on suspicion of assault and of pitch encroachment.

Howe: I’ve never seen anything like it

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe spoke of his disbelief at the events unfolding in front of his eyes at Goodison Park and suggested the delay could have impacted his team’s performance.

“I’ve never seen anything like that,” he said. “At first, I didn’t realise what was happening to start with. It was a big delay. I’m not using it as an excuse, but I don’t know if that affected us, because certainly we weren’t the same team in the second half.”

The 21-year-old was staging a protest representing the views of a group called Just Stop Oil who are concerned about new oil fields in the North Sea.

Just Stop Oil later released a statement, saying: “At 8:50pm today, a young supporter of Just Stop Oil ran onto the pitch during the Everton vs Newcastle United game to draw attention to the group’s demand that the Government ends all new fossil fuel supply projects.

“Louis, 21, locked on to the goalpost at Goodison Park wearing a Just Stop Oil t-shirt, causing the referee to briefly stop play.”

Attached to the statement, Louis added his own message: “It’s 2022 and it’s time to look up, time to step up and not stand by. It’s time to act like it’s an emergency.

“Report after report is telling me that my future is going to be dire, and my government is telling me not to worry and pay into a pension.

“My generation is being shafted – we face a cost of living crisis, a housing crisis, a fuel crisis and an unlivable planet – but we have a choice. We can choose to highlight that our climate is breaking down, we can choose to resist this government that is betraying us, we can choose to step up and not stand by.”

The incident comes after an attempt by the same group to disrupt Wednesday’s game between Arsenal and Liverpool when a protestor wrapped his hands around the post, but he was swiftly removed by stewards.