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Football

07th Dec 2021

Diogo Dalot makes heartwarming gesture to disabled fan who was hit by coin thrown by Arsenal fan

Daniel Brown

What a lovely gesture from Dalot

Diogo Dalot has invited a young disabled supporter to watch Manchester United as his guest after the 12-year-old was hit by a coin thrown by an Arsenal fan.

George Howe suffered a cut to the head after being hit by a coin while he was sat in the disabled stand as he attended his first ever match at Old Trafford, having to be taken to hospital as a result.

The young fan – who has epilepsy, brain scarring and autism and suffers from seizures – was treated by medical staff at the stadium before his father took him to A&E

Despite United securing a 3-2 win in an entertaining tie against the Gunners, George’s first trip to Old Trafford was spoiled as he missed the conclusion of the match.

His dad, James Howe, stated that the coin was thrown from the away stand – which is situated above the disabled section – and claimed that he witnessed some Arsenal fans mocking young supporters in wheelchairs.

“It was disgusting,’ he told the Manchester Evening News. “You could just tell before kick-off it was going to be one of those games. You could sense it in the atmosphere.

“After about 20 minutes they started throwing bottles, bottle caps, full pies. They were landing right near where George was sat, so I swapped seats with him to try and stop him getting hit.

“For the whole of the second half I was getting pelted with coins, then with about 15 minutes to go, one hit George on the top of his head.

“It left a hell of a gash. And with him suffering seizures it’s not ideal for him to be hit on the head.”

James took to Twitter to speak about the incident, with United defender Dalot quick to hear about what had occurred – immediately offering George the chance to return to Old Trafford.

He wrote: “I’m sorry to hear that your son had to go through all that… hopefully he is okay now!

“I’m more than happy to invite you both to our next home game so your son can really enjoy what football is all about. Can you provide me a contact so I can speak to you?”

According to the Metro, United and Arsenal are currently working together to examine CCTV footage and identify the culprits, who are expected to be banned from attending future matches.

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