A non-league football player said he was “knocked sick” after he mistakenly drunk from a drinks bottle allegedly filled with urine from a rival supporter.
Tony Thompson, a goalkeeper for Warrington Town in England, was furious after he was sent off during the club’s 1-0 defeat at home to Guiseley on Saturday. He clashed with a supporter who had allegedly filled the goalkeeper’s drinks bottle with urine.
“Today I fell out of love with the game,” Thompson wrote on Twitter.
“I’ve been called many names but for someone to piss in my bottle, for me to drink it and then to be told I wasn’t allowed to react because I’m a player is outrageous. That person has put me and my family’s health at risk and knocked me sick.”
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)
The FA Trophy match was stopped around the hour mark as players confronted fans behind the goal at Warrington’s Cantilever Park. Warrington play in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, the seventh tier of football in England.
On Thompson’s dismissal, Warrington manager Mark Beesley told the Warrington Guardian: “The Guiseley staff apologised — it was disgusting and there’s no place in life for things like that. I think the referee has completely lost control after that. If someone urinates in my bottle and I drink it, I’m going to throw it away. To send him off for throwing the bottle away is a disgrace.
“The referee has to see common sense — I can’t understand it. From our point of view, the welfare of our players is paramount and what Tony was subjected to was disgraceful. Whoever did it should hang their head in shame and never be allowed into a football game again.”
Warrington posted on Twitter during the game: “An away fan has apparently urinated in his water bottle, and then when Thompson has squirted it at said ‘fan’ after finding out, he’s been sent off.”
Guiseley released a statement on Sunday: “We unreservedly condemn this disgraceful action.
“We deplore the actions of the individual(s) concerned and we will work alongside Warrington Town and the police to identify them.
“If the individual(s) involved can be identified they will receive life bans from attending Guiseley AFC fixtures.”