Man arrested after tying himself to post during Everton-Newcastle

A man was arrested on Thursday evening after Everton's Premier League game against Newcastle was delayed for seven minutes when a protester tied himself to a goal post.

The second half was barely five minutes old when the game was stopped for the incident at the Gwladys Street End and the protester was removed only after half a dozen people and bolt croppers were deployed.

The man was then led away by police and stewards before the game was restarted, with Alex Iwobi's stoppage-time goal securing a vital 1-0 win for the 10-man hosts.

Merseyside Police said on Thursday evening: "We can confirm a man was arrested after encroaching on to the pitch during the Everton v Newcastle United Premier League fixture.

"At around 8.55pm it was reported that a man disrupted the match by running on to the pitch and tying himself to the goal post at the Howard Kendall Gwladys Street End.

"The suspect, a 21-year-old man, has been arrested on suspicion of pitch encroachment and he is now in police custody. The game resumed and has now concluded."

A second man, 39, who appeared to confront the protester, was also arrested on suspicion of assault and of pitch encroachment.

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe spoke of his disbelief at the events unfolding in front of his eyes at Goodison Park and suggesting the delay could have impact his team's performance.

"I've never seen anything like that," he said. "At first, I didn't realise what was happening to start with. It was a big delay. I'm not using it as an excuse, but I don't know if that affected us, because certainly we weren't the same team in the second half."

The 21-year-old was staging a protest representing the views of a group called Just Stop Oil who are concerned about new oil fields in