Patrick Vieira: Crystal Palace manager avoids FA punishment following fan altercation at Everton

Patrick Vieira was involved in an altercation with a fan as supporters invaded the pitch following Everton's 3-2 win over Crystal Palace at Goodison Park, which secured their Premier League survival; Merseyside Police are not investigating. FA will not charge Vieira

Patrick Vieira was involved in an altercation with a fan during a pitch invasion after Everton beat Crystal Palace to secure their Premier League status

Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira will not face any punishment from the FA following an altercation with a fan at Goodison Park.

Everton fans invaded the pitch following Dominic Calvert-Lewin's 85th-minute winner and at the final whistle of the Toffees' 3-2 victory over Palace which secured their Premier League survival.

Vieira was confronted by a fan as he was walking towards the away dressing room after the final whistle. The fan appeared to provoke Vieira, who then kicked him to the ground and had to be led away by other supporters.

Merseyside Police said on Monday that Vieira will not face police charges following the incident and on Wednesday the FA also announced it will not take any further action.

The FA's investigation into the pitch invasion remains ongoing.

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"We worked with Everton FC to gather all available CCTV footage and spoke to witnesses," Merseyside Police said in a statement.

"Officers have spoken to both men involved and the opportunity to make a formal complaint or support a prosecution was declined."

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Image: Vieira watches on from the touchline at Goodison

Police chief: Pitch is players' place of work and they should feel safe

The UK's football policing chief is alarmed by the recent rise in pitch invasions and has described attacks on players and managers as "totally unacceptable".

Chief Constable Mark Roberts, the National Police Chiefs' Council's Football Policing Lead, said: "It has been alarming to see a rise in the number of fans entering the pitch during matches over the past couple of weeks.

Dion Dublin says there must be firm action taken against pitch invaders after Vieira was confronted by Everton fans as he was walking off the pitch at full-time

"This has at times resulted in assaults and altercations with players, managers and club staff - which is totally unacceptable. The pitch is the players' place of work and like everyone else, they should be able to feel safe.

"I know emotions are running high when clubs are getting promoted or avoiding relegation, but having large numbers of fans rushing onto the pitch at the end of the game is a safety risk for everyone, and I would urge all fans to remain in their seats and celebrate in the correct way.

"It is the responsibility of clubs to ensure that fans can view matches in safety and we will continue to work with clubs to see what can be done to help prevent these incidents in future."

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