Watford v Sheffield United ended up being briefly stopped as fans invade the pitch pleading for medical assistance in the stands.
Play was paused due to an issue in the away end of Vicarage Road, with stewards and St Johns Ambulance crew attending to the incident.
However it took around 10 minutes according to fans to get their attention with two supporters making their onto the field of play to point it out. Police officers are said to have just stood by unaware.
Sheffield United tweeted from their official Twitter account: “The game has been paused due to an emergency in the away end. Updates will be provided as information becomes available.”
Sheffield United fans pleading for medical assistance from the Watford police and stewards #WATSHU pic.twitter.com/DZlfH8ptDb
— Paul Townley (@prtownley) August 1, 2022
The match resumed after a short break while emergency services tended to the matter and the person who needed help was taken away on a stretcher and is believed to have been taken to Watford General Hospital.
Sheffield United have since confirmed that they believe a female fan had an allergic reaction and is doing better now that she is being treated.
The two fans who raced onto the pitch to raise concern and were escorted away and allegedly ejected for entering the pitch were returned to the stand by police 10 minutes after their removal.
Boss Paul Heckingbottom sent his best wishes to a Sheffield United supporter who collapsed in the away end during their side’s defeat at Watford.
After admitting he was disappointed by referee Josh Smith’s influence on the Watford winner, Heckingbottom sent his best wishes to the fan “on behalf of myself, the players and the club.”
“It did throw us for a bit, knowing one of your fans is badly,” Heckingbottom added.
“But hopefully she’s fit and well very soon after receiving medical attention.”
“It’s fine margins,” Heckingbottom said on the game. “We knew about their threat on the counter and it played out that way. It’s frustrating to be undone like that.”
Watford marked their return to the Championship and Rob Edwards’ first competitive match in charge with a 1-0 win over Sheffield United on Monday night.
The only goal of an engaging encounter came after 56 minutes, when Joao Pedro swept in at the end of a slick counter-attack.
Teenage forward Daniel Jebbison produced the Blades’ best chance when he forced Daniel Bachmann to push a shot over the bar just before the break, after the visitors fell behind, and never really looked capable of a response.
Watford’s Rob Edwards: “It feels great. Emotions are high and I’m just really pleased with the players. I wanted to see intensity tonight, I wanted to see a commitment and togetherness. That’s what we asked for and I think we saw that as well.
“If I’m being critical, when we had the momentum in the second half, I thought maybe we could be a bit more ruthless and get that second goal, but we didn’t. But I think we showed a lot of resilience to see the game out then. Overall, I’m very, very pleased.”
Sheffield United’s Paul Heckingbottom: “The boys stuck at it manfully, but a big part of our game is outside centre-backs and we’ve got three missing. The players on the pitch adapted well. There was nothing in the game first half. We knew their threats would come on the counter, which they did, whereas we wanted to control the game with the ball, which we did in spells.
“Probably the only criticism is that we were a little bit shot-shy and reluctant to put the ball in the box and all of our subs were attacking players. We lost shape and balance, if you like, putting all the attacking players on the pitch. It has been a difficult couple of days, but we would never let that be an excuse – we came here to win.”
Twitter users reacted with Watford v Sheffield United stopped as fans invade the pitch pleading for medical assistance in the stands…
@mcchickenberge: Fuck me that’s awful from the stewards and police
@GavlarLambert: Terrible response, good job it was nothing urgent.
@AWerdek: Wow… ? Not good..
@ShrimpersTalk: Jesus! God forbid cpr was needed as that response time was atrocious from the stewards
@TomKirklandsufc: I was right behind the person needing assistance. Shocking response time
@Charlotte_BRFC: Awful by the police there
@SheffPBV: If the person had died then I’m sure their neglect would lead to a court case and possible corporate manslaughter.
@Maximoose22_: Needs investigating and they need fucking training, not good enough
@KopFinest: Fucking useless
@SamAIex: It took people running onto the pitch to get the game stopped and some attention? Fucking shameful, @WatfordFC. Stewarding needs looking into.
@SJB1889: The person in question got the medical assistance they needed and I’ve been all alright now. Shocking from Watford FC. 1 steward in particular attitude was disgusting!
@juancl78: Never seen such a lack of care shown towards such an incident. You’d think clubs would learn from the the Eriksen incident but @WatfordFC were horrendous as were the ambulance and police. Luckily it has ended well but serious questions should be asked. What if that was a player?
@ArronBlade90: Worst I’ve ever seen, they better hope she’s ok. Absolutely disgusting, the lot need sacking
@heva_sufc: what an absolute joke this is!! hope the woman is alright ❤️⚔️
@MarkHagin1: Not good enough, police and stewards stood round doing nothing while a member of the public needed help @EFL
@shaunywood21: Pleading for help, escorted out. Fucking standards.
