WILLIAMS FACES UEFA RAP AFTER EURO FRACAS
NO END TO EVERTON’S TROUBLES AS CONFRONTATION WITH FAN PILES ON MISERY OF DEFEAT
Ashley Williams and Everton could both be sanctioned by UEFA after a melee instigated by the Welshman saw a fan holding a child appear to aim a punch at a Lyon player.
Toffees skipper Williams’ second-half shove on Lyon keeper Anthony Lopes sparked heated confrontations between several players.
As they moved to the advertising hoardings, a supporter holding a child in one arm appeared to push Lopes in the head and seemed to aim a punch in the direction of the keeper.
Meanwhile an incensed Williams seemed to raise his hand to Lucas Tousart’s face but only received a yellow card, along with Lyon’s Bertrand Traore, for the incident.
Williams would later go on to score, cancelling out Nabil Fekir’s penalty, but Traore’s 75th-minute winner earned Lyon a 2-1 Europa League success, leaving Everton at the foot of Group E.
“It’s what happens, it’s football. It is what it is,” Williams told BT Sport 2 of the incident. “It’s high emotions. We want to win the game, they want to win the game and stuff happens. That was just one of those times.”
Ex-Premier League referee Graham Poll expects further repercussions for both the centre-back and the club.
Writing for the he said: “Ashley Williams and Everton will surely face further sanction from UEFA once video evidence is studied. Williams totally lost the plot.
“The fact that a couple of Everton backroom staff had to enter the field to calm Williams down showed how out of control the captain was and, while their intervention helped, they should not enter the field of play.
“The UEFA delegate and referee’s observer will have met with the official after the game and discussed their findings before submitting individual reports. Unless the referee ill-advisedly says he saw everything, sanctions really must follow.”
The loss left Everton with just one point from their three Europa ties and heaped further pressure on boss Ronald Koeman.
Koeman claimed his players’ hot heads were caused by referee Rob van de Ven’s officiating. “I think the irritation grows in the game for our players and in my opinion that was the problem by the referee,” he argued.
“The referee was Dutch but he didn’t do anything against the theatre of some of the Lyon players. Fekir in the first half dived 10 times. I understand with my players, that comes out of frustration. I don’t know what happened, but I can understand it.”
Lyon boss Bruno Genesio had no complaints about how the fracas was handled. “Everyone did their job in that situation,” he said. “We could then get on with the game and thinking about football, which was the main thing.”