Fratton Park ‘could face closure’ over Portsmouth fan incident v Derby County
Portsmouth are awaiting the findings of an ongoing investigation into a supporter incident at Fratton Park last weekend.
Pompey and Derby County played out a pulsating 2-2 Championship draw at Fratton on Saturday (12 April), as the two sides battle among others to avoid the drop back to League One.
Hampshire Police have however launched an investigation over a report that a supporter located in the stadium’s North Stand had thrown objects including a soft drinks bottle at an assistant referee in the 74th minute of the match.
Portsmouth could face partial stadium closure over incident
Portsmouth released an appeal for information on Monday evening (14 April) via their official website and social media platforms, after the incident which occurred just prior to Derby taking a 2-1 lead at Fratton Park on Saturday.
Pompey are co-operating fully with Hampshire Police but could find themselves in hot water with the FA, having previously received a £5,000 fine for the scenes this time last year when the Blues earned promotion against Barnsley.
Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett has predicted dangerous territory for Portsmouth, which could even include a partial closure of the stadium for future matches.
Hackett, speaking exclusively to Pompey News, has explained how the process is likely to unfold.
“I hope that during the game the assistant brought this to the attention of the referee. The referee is then able to speak to the stadium manager and the police to enable increased presence of stewards in that area of the stadium,” he explained.
“The club will be expected to respond to the Football Association taking into account any action they may have taken. The reports from the officials will be with The FA. This is taken very seriously and may result in a closing off of the section from where the missiles will have been thrown.”
“The club will be looking carefully through all their security cameras to attempt to detect any offenders. The FA will look seriously at this matter taking into account any previous misconduct reports. Depending on the results of that investigation will determine any sanction to be imposed. The last thing you want is an official getting injured through a missile along with any player that might be close by.”
Portsmouth FC are appealing for information from supporters after objects, including a soft drink bottle, were thrown by a spectator in the North Stand, towards the assistant referee, in the 74th minute of Saturday’s game against Derby County.#Pompey.
— Portsmouth FC (@Pompey) April 14, 2025
John Mousinho steers Pompey into last four Championship games
On the football side, Mousinho and his squad will be fully focused on ensuring Portsmouth accumulate enough points to finish above at least three sides by the 3 May finale.
There are four matches in which to achieve that aim, with the imminent Easter weekend providing an away trip to Norwich City (18 April) before a return to Fratton against Watford (21 April).
| Portsmouth – final four | Date |
| Norwich (A) | 18 April |
| Watford (H) | 21 April |
| Sheffield Wed (A) | 26 April |
| Hull (H) | 3 May |
Afterwards, the Blues, currently 19th in the table with a four-point gap to the drop zone, face Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough (26 April) and relegation rivals Hull City in PO4 on the final day.