A soccer fan pleaded guilty on Thursday to assaulting Sheffield United striker Billy Sharp at the end of the team’s Championship playoff game against Nottingham Forest.
Robert Biggs, a 30-year-old season-ticket holder at Forest, ran onto the field after Tuesday’s game at the City Ground and headbutted Sharp to the ground near the touchline. Sharp, who did not play in the match because of injury and was standing with his hands in his pockets, required four stitches to a wound on his lip.
Biggs appeared at a hearing at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court and admitted to the offense, which was described by prosecutors as a “deliberate and senseless act of violence.”
During the hearing, Biggs was told that a separate charge of illegally entering the playing surface had been dropped. He did not oppose an application for a banning order from soccer matches.
Forest already said whoever attacked Sharp would be banned for life.
The incident took place after supporters poured onto the field after Forest won 5-4 in a penalty shootout. The teams drew 3-3 on aggregate after two legs.
Sharp, a former Forest player, wrote on Twitter on Wednesday that “one mindless idiot ruined what was an unbelievable night of football.”
“As an ex-Forest player I will not let one scumbag ruin my respect for the Forest fans,” he said.
Forest will play Huddersfield in the playoff final on May 29, with the winner earning a promotion to the English Premier League.
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