Bottle throwing: Crawley supporter gets three-game ban

The bad-tempered match saw Crawley's Ollie Palmer sent off

A Crawley Town fan who threw a bottle at an assistant referee has been banned for three home games.

The empty plastic bottle hit the official following the League Two defeat by Northampton on 8 December.

The spectator responsible, who said they were "frustrated" and "upset" on the day, came forward after an appeal was put out by the club.

On Wednesday, Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli was struck by a plastic bottle in their Carabao Cup win at Arsenal.

Police are now investigating the incident at Emirates Stadium.

Crawley said they had been in discussions with Sussex Police, but decided a three-game ban was sufficient. The supporter has also agreed to make a donation to the English Football League's charity partner Mind.

"I would firstly like to apologise to the official the bottle struck and I hope it has not had any damaging effect on him and hope it doesn't in the future," said the supporter, who has not been identified.

"I would also like to apologise to the club and to all individuals as this has caused extra work.

"I understand how proud the club are of their good reputation and the reputation it has of welcoming families to the stadium. I hope my actions haven't tarnished its good reputation."

The bad-tempered match saw Crawley striker Ollie Palmer shown a red card by referee Craig Hicks for a clash with the Cobblers' Aaron Pierre.

One of Hicks' assistants was then struck by the bottle as they left the pitch at full-time.

The Football Association has warned the Sussex club faces sanctions if there is any further "spectator misconduct".

"It goes without saying that the club condone any actions which brings our good name into disrepute," said operations director Kelly Derham.

"Football ignited passions but, regardless of how we view what happens on the field, I would appeal to all our supporters to uphold the good name of the club on matchdays by behaving responsibly."