Everton v Aston Villa: Lucas Digne & Matty Cash hit by bottle
Aston Villa's Lucas Digne and Matty Cash were struck by a bottle thrown from the crowd in their side's Premier League game at Everton on Saturday.
The plastic bottle was thrown as Villa celebrated Emi Buendia's goal just before half-time.
It appeared to land between the two players, who both stayed on the floor briefly before being able to continue.
Full-back Digne joined Villa from Everton two weeks ago after asking to leave.
«What has happened and some things that was said about me in the last month has made me very sad,» Digne wrote in a post on Instagramexternal-link at the time.
«But I will not enter a war on words with anyone.»
Figures released on Friday showed arrests at football matches across the top five English leagues are at their highest levels in years, with fan disorder «getting worse» according to the UK's football policing lead.
The latest data covers the first half of this season — which has seen the return of fans to capacity stadiums after a year of lockdowns and restrictions.
There have been more than 800 football-related arrests in the first six months of the campaign, alongside more than 750 reported incidents of disorder.
The build-up to the game at Goodison Park had been emotionally charged, with Duncan Ferguson taking interim charge of the team following Rafael Benitez's sacking last week.
Anger among fans has been building about the direction of the club following a run of one win in 13 league games before the visit of Villa.
A plane flew over the ground before kick-off, calling for the resignation of chairman Bill Kenwright, who has been associated with the club for more than 20 years.
The bottle-throwing incident follows a similar scene at Elland Road at the beginning of January when Burnley's Matt