“We were right beside the tunnel and we had zero protection."
Enda Stevens said the Sheffield United players were terrified after a fan pitch invasion following their Play-off semi-final defeat to Nottingham Forest.
During the full-time celebrations, Nottingham Forest supporters invaded the pitch in celebration. During the invasion, a Forest fan headbutted Blades captain Billy Sharp and has since been jailed.
Enda Stevens recalls the attack on Billy Sharp.
Stevens described the fan attack on Sharp as "an absolute disgrace" whilst he recalled the events that took place at The City Ground at full-time.
The former Shamrock Rovers defender said his teammates felt "isolated" during the pitch invasion as the police did not protect the Blades players.
“I was out there with him and it was just an absolute disgrace. The thing is with that, you’re actually fearing for your life. You’re on a pitch and thinking, ‘I can be attacked at any moment here.' There was no help for us, nobody there to protect us,” Stevens told reporters on Ireland duty ahead of the team's
Uefa Nations League games.
“There were policemen beside us who didn’t help us and didn’t want to get involved. It comes down to protecting us. We are the ones isolated out there, and we had no protection at all. There were people in place to protect us but they chose not to."
Stevens on the policing at The City Ground.
Stevens said something has to change to protect players against pitch invasions, as it was up to the Sheffield United players to defend themselves.
The 31-year-old highlighted that Sharp was "right beside the tunnel," however, the Blades striker "had zero protection" from the stewards.
“They could see it and they didn’t help us. It was up to ourselves to protect each other and try get ourselves off the pitch. It is a difficult one for them, I understand that, but it is something that has to change," Stevens added.
"The fact of what happened to Billy, it was clear as day, and Billy wasn’t too far away from the tunnel. That’s where you should be policed the most, like in that tunnel. With the stewards, they should be all around there protecting people from getting in.
“We were right beside the tunnel and we had zero protection."
Stevens travels with the Republic of Ireland who play Armenia in their opening UEFA Nations League game on Saturday, with kick-off at 2:00 pm.
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