A man has been jailed for headbutting Sheffield United captain Billy Sharp during a pitch invasion after a match on Tuesday night.
Robert Biggs, 30, of Derbyshire, was jailed for 24 weeks after he admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm and going on to the playing area at a football match.
He appeared at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
Sharp, 36, was knocked to the ground after Nottingham Forest beat Sheffield on penalties at the end of the Championship play-off semi-final.
He was left “bleeding, angry, shook up” and needing stitches after the attack, Sheffield boss Paul Heckingbottom said.
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.”
He said: “As an ex-Forest player I will not let one scumbag ruin my respect for the Forest fans.”
Forest will play Huddersfield in the playoff final on 29 May, with the winner earning promotion to the English Premier League.
