Sport

Brian Barry-Murphy hails way referee handled Krystian Bielik incident with fan

05 Sep 2026 2 minute read

Portsmouth FC v Cardiff City – SkyBet Championship – Cardiff City players get involved after an incident with the home supporters. Credit: Chris Fairweather, Huw Evans Picture Agency.

Press Association Sport Staff

Cardiff manager Brian Barry-Murphy hopes an incident which saw Krystian Bielik involved in an altercation with a Portsmouth fan during the 2-0 defeat at Fratton Park will be properly investigated by the Football Association.

The Sky Bet Championship match was stopped around the 70-minute mark when the confrontation happened as Bielik, recently signed from West Brom, went to collect the ball after it had gone into the stands.

Video footage of the incident shows Bielik becoming involved in an altercation with the young male supporter, who caught the ball and then appeared to be pushed in the throat by the player after he had thrown it back towards the pitch.

The referee looked to diffuse the situation from escalating by speaking to both managers before play resumed.

“Krystian went to get the ball back from the stands and got slapped in the face,” Barry-Murphy told reporters after the match, as quoted by BBC Sport. “I wanted to make sure he (Bielik) was protected and make sure he was OK, he is.

“I thought the referee and his staff handled the incident impeccably and felt really sure by him that the correct process would take place, and that was it really.”

Barry-Murphy added: “He (the referee) said he had seen everything which occurred really clearly, and that he would diffuse the situation and implemented the correct processes from here on.”

Support our Nation today

For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.