Aberdeen star Jack MacKenzie was left bloodied after a nasty incident involving his own fans on Saturday.
MacKenzie, 24, had been an unused substitute during Aberdeen’s 2-1 defeat by Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership.
The result saw United pip Aberdeen to fourth place in the table, and after full time, there was a pitch invasion by their fans.
MacKenzie was on the pitch at Tannadice as the pitch invasion unfolded when he was hit by an object thrown by an Aberdeen supporter.
The object, believed to be part of a seat that had been torn out, was hurled from the upper tier of one stand in the stadium.
The 24-year-old was knocked to the ground after being hit and left bloodied, before he later required stitches in what was an extremely unsavoury incident.
Aberdeen star Jack MacKenzie was left bloodied after a nasty incident involving his own fans
MacKenzie required stitches after being hit by an object that was thrown by Aberdeen fans
The object, believed to be part of a seat, knocked him to the ground in a shocking incident
There was already a limited number of travelling fans in attendance after trouble at the last meeting between the sides at Tannadice when objects were thrown at United manager Jim Goodwin.
In the aftermath, Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin provided an update on MacKenzie.
‘(He is) OK but it’s quite a bad injury,’ Thelin said. ‘This is unacceptable and can’t happen.
‘We have to get all the facts of what actually happened. All we know is Jack got a really bad injury as a player doing his job. This cannot happen in this way.’
Aberdeen subsequently released a statement expressing their disgust at what had gone on.
‘The club is dismayed and outraged at the scenes that unfolded following this afternoon’s Premiership tie with Dundee United at Tannadice Park,’ it read.
‘Our player, Jack MacKenzie, has sustained a serious facial injury after being struck by a part of a chair that was thrown towards the pitch. We await further information, but what we know for sure, the chair was thrown from the stand in which the Aberdeen supporters were being housed.
‘As such, we are calling on all fans who may have witnessed this event to contact the Club to provide any information that may assist us in our investigations and wider discussions with the relevant authorities.
The unsavoury encounter came after Dundee United fans invaded the pitch after their victory
United boss Jim Goodwin, who previously coached Aberdeen, called it ‘an absolute disgrace’
‘When the perpetrator is identified, we will take the strongest possible action available to us.’
Police Scotland later confirmed MacKenzie was set for further medical assessment having been treated on the scene – and they appealed for information from witnesses.
Match Commander, Superintendent Ray Birnie, added: ‘This was a mindless act which has seriously injured the player, resulting in him needing medical treatment.
‘This type of behaviour will not be tolerated and I’d appeal to all fans to help us trace the person responsible.
‘If you were in the Fair Play Stand and witnessed what happened, please do the right thing and come forward. I’d also urge anyone who has mobile phone footage to review it and bring anything of importance to our attention.’
Meanwhile, Goodwin, who spent just under a year in charge of Aberdeen between 2022 and 2023, condemned the incident, labelling it an ‘absolute disgrace’
‘I deliberately took myself off the pitch as quickly as I could because we’ve had previous with the Aberdeen supporters,’ he said.
‘I’m really disappointed to hear young Jack has been hit by an object thrown by his own supporters. He’s inside having stitches now, it’s an absolute disgrace.
‘It’s probably taken something as serious as this to happen for the authorities to finally step in and do something about it to identify these idiots who let down a really good club.’
Elsewhere, the SPFL similarly slammed the behaviour of those responsible.
‘It’s enormously disappointing and frustrating that one of the most exciting games in the season has been marred by such moronic behaviour,’ a statement read.
‘We await the match delegate report but will work closely with both clubs and Police Scotland to help identify the perpetrator and fully expect that appropriately severe footballing and judicial sanctions will be imposed.’
