Sheffield United’s hopes of sealing automatic promotion to the Premier League came to a bitter end at Turf Moor on Monday night, but the story of the night extended far beyond the 90 minutes on the pitch.
As Burnley fans stormed the field to celebrate their 2-1 win — a result that sent them up alongside Leeds United — scenes turned ugly.
Hamza Choudhury, who had played the full game for the Blades, was confronted by at least one supporter in the midst of the pitch invasion. What began as taunting escalated into a heated altercation, with Hamza needing to be physically restrained by club staff and security near the tunnel.
The Bangladesh international, on loan from Leicester City, appeared incensed after being subjected to verbal, and reportedly racial, abuse from celebrating Burnley fans.
Sky Sports footage showed Hamza being pushed away by a police officer and later dragged down the tunnel as tensions flared.
Speaking after the match, Blades boss Chris Wilder expressed his disappointment over the lack of security around his players during the post-match scenes.
“We were told by the ref before that we’d get stewards surrounding us, but I think they went on the missing list. Completely on the missing list,” Wilder said.
“It was quite scary out there in the end, when people are coming and doing bits and pieces at you.”
While Wilder didn’t elaborate on exactly what happened between Hamza and the fan, he made it clear the interaction was far from friendly: “They weren’t exactly going to say: ‘All the best and good luck in the play-offs, shaking his hand.’”
“It’s understandable that their emotions are running high, but I didn’t think we got protected by the football club or the stewards one bit. I spoke to the referee afterwards and he noticed that,” he added.
“When 40 or 50 lads are running at you, saying and doing bits and pieces at the end of a game, it’s quite difficult to get off. But I’d be absolutely stunned if anything comes our way on that.”
United, who’ve already been fined multiple times this season for failing to control their players, now wait to see whether the referee includes the incident in his match report. If so, the club are expected to cite the absence of protection as part of their mitigation.
Hamza, meanwhile, delivered a composed and disciplined performance in the match itself.
He completed 42 of his 47 passes with 89% accuracy and was key in breaking up Burnley’s attacks — winning two of three tackles, making five clearances, four of them headed, and registering seven ball recoveries. His defensive presence stood out in an otherwise frustrating night for the Blades.
On the pitch, Josh Brownhill scored both goals for Burnley — the first from a rebound and the second from the penalty spot after a foul on Zeki Amdouni. Tom Cannon’s strike briefly brought United level, but despite applying late pressure, the visitors couldn’t find a second equaliser.
United now turn their attention to the play-offs, with two regular season games remaining — away at Stoke and home to Blackburn — to fine-tune preparations for one final push toward promotion.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
