’Downs finally celebrate league title

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LONDON – Two football supporters have yesterday been charged after crowd trouble at Manchester City’s title-winning match yesterday as police hunt for the hooligan who smacked Aston Villa’s goalkeeper Robin Olsen on the head.

Ecstatic scenes at the Etihad Stadium were marred by another pitch invasion, where a player was assaulted - the fifth outbreak of crowd violence in English football in the past week.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) yesterday said Phillip Maxwell, 28, of Knowsley, Merseyside, had been charged with throwing a missile (pyrotechnic) onto the pitch and will appear at Manchester and Salford Magistrates Court on June 23.

And Paul Colbridge, 37, of Salford, had been charged with going onto the pitch and will appear at Manchester and Salford Magistrates Court on June 7. Both have been bailed ahead of the court appearances, police said.

GMP said the investigation into the assault of Aston Villa’s Robin Olsen by a fan during Sunday’s pitch invasion was ongoing, with no arrests yet.

Assault

A police spokesperson said: “Inquiries into the reported assault of a player on the pitch after the final whistle are ongoing, with officers working in partnership with both football clubs.”

Manchester City have promised to issue a lifetime ban on the fan who assaulted Olsen. Thousands of home supporters invaded the Etihad Stadium pitch after City sealed the Premier League title on Sunday.

Olsen, who had deputised for Emiliano Martinez, was struck by a fan during a pitch invasion.

The shameful attack follows fans at Nottingham Forest, Port Vale and Everton being investigated after flashpoints with players and coaching staff during pitch invasions over the past week.

Villa said in a statement later that Olsen took a ‘bang on the back of the head’ and was ‘completely fine’.

Asked if his squad made it back inside without any issues, Villa boss Steven Gerrard said: “No, my goalkeeper was attacked.”