Steward gets trampled by police horse after fans invade the pitch in a Capital One Cup match

Police horses, deployed due to crowd trouble after the match, trampled a steward who suffered a shoulder injury

A close encounter between English football clubs Preston and Blackpool ended with a sour incident in which a steward was trampled and injured.

The match between these two rivals was tense right from the start with reports of violence and a car being burnt down even before the start of the game. Preston went on to win the game via an 87th minute goal by Tom Clarke, in this Capital One Cup encounter.

Jubilant fans ran out in droves to the pitch to celebrate the victory. At this point, policemen on their horses also entered the field to restore order and tame the situation. A steward who was on the ground at this point, was unfortunately trampled upon by two horses and sustained a shoulder injury.

A Preston spokesman said: “A steward was injured by a police horse. He suffered damage to his shoulder, and has gone for an X-ray,” reported Daily Mail.

The Manager of Black pool, Paul Ince was furious with the incident and reacted.

“It’s an absolute joke,” he fumed. “Who knows what could happen? It’s going to take someone to get stabbed or something else to happen before we’re going to listen.”

Simon Grayson, the Manager of Preston was more measured in his reading of the situation and hoped things will settle down in the near future.

“Hopefully it was only supporters being boisterous and there’s nothing too intense or any damage to anybody,” the manager said. “I’m not saying I’m pleased they did it. I hope not too many people were seriously injured hopefully in the next few days, everybody settles down.”

Kirk Broadfoot of Blackpool attempts to cross the ball past David Buchanan of Preston North End during the Capital One Cup first round match between Preston North End and Blackpool.

The match in itself had been a slightly drab affair with both sides missing chances consistently, until the Clarke goal which sealed the match effectively in Preston’s favour.

Watch the video of the incident here: