John Mousinho has admitted he was “absolutely furious” at the position he found himself in after an incident involving Portsmouth’s Krystian Bielik and a supporter during the win over Cardiff City – and says his initial post-match reaction was based on second-hand information.
The flashpoint came late in the second half at Fratton Park as Cardiff defender Bielik went to retrieve the ball from the crowd. What should have been a routine moment to restart play suddenly turned ugly, with a physical altercation breaking out between the Poland international and a fan.
Hampshire Police later confirmed they had opened an investigation into an incident “in which a teenage boy was reportedly the victim of a common assault”.
In the immediate aftermath, Mousinho apologised to Cardiff’s players and condemned the behaviour of the supporters involved. At that stage, he had not seen any footage and relied on what he had been told on the touchline.
By Wednesday, ahead of Portsmouth’s upcoming fixture against Charlton, his tone had shifted once he had finally watched the incident back.
“I've now seen the footage and my comments post-match were entirely based off what I was told,” Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent during his pre-match media duties.
From the dugout, he said, his view had been completely obscured.
“When the altercation kicked off I couldn't see it from where I was myself,” he explained. “The referee then spoke to us and his words at the time were very clear that he had seen the incident in its entirety.
“He said that as Krystian went over to get the ball, the fan slapped him, and a second fan threw a ball at Perry Ng's head.”
Those details, Mousinho suggested, framed both his initial response and his subsequent anger at having to comment without the full picture. With police now involved and footage circulating, the fallout from a brief but heated confrontation is likely to run far longer than the few seconds it took to unfold on the touchline.
