Sheffield United: Why Paul Heckingbottom was so keen to protect his Blades ‘boys’ at City Ground

The main flashpoints came after the Blades’ 3-2 defeat on penalties, with a 31-year-old man arrested for assaulting Billy Sharp, running on the injured captain’s blind side and headbutting him during a pitch invasion.

Footage has emerged of what appears to be United’s Oli McBurnie stamping on someone during the invasion, and team-mate Jack Robinson in a confrontation with Forest fans in the car park. The Football Association are investigating the McBurnie incident but his club is making no comment.

Sharp, who needed stitches on Tuesday, wrote on social media “As an ex-Forest player I will not let one scumbag ruin my respect for the Forest fans.”

Many got in touch to express their abhorrence, and a fundraising page in aid of Martin House Children’s Hospice, a charity nominated by Sharp’s representatives, raised thousands of pounds in hours.

The incidents followed disorder during a pitch invasion after Huddersfield Town’s semi-final victory over Luton Town the previous night, and a Football League statement made clear it “condemns in the strongest possible terms the reckless actions of individuals who have brought the game into disrepute” and said it will consider responding to such incidents with “capacity reductions or other similar mitigations”.

Supporters were also reminded coming onto the pitch and the use of pyrotechnics are both illegal and could result in a club ban and criminal record.

“Many people have already lost the privilege of watching their team via club bans this season and further punitive action will follow for those who continue to disregard ground regulations and break the law at football matches,” the league warned.

“We recognise this lawlessness is by a small minority of individuals and that the majority of people attending matches are a credit to their club.”

Tempers flared to a lesser extent during the game, with Blades manager Heckingbottom cautioned after sparking a melee involving both squads, playing and non-playing, and coaches.

Frustrated at what he saw as Forest’s time-wasting, he returned the ball to Djed Spence by slamming it into his midriff.

“Some of them are nearly as old as me but they’re my boys,” he said. “You’ve got to protect them, they’re family. I won’t have anyone taking the mickey out of them.

“It’s my fault, it’s a yellow card without a doubt.

“I did my bit to highlight we’re not having a team run a game against us and I thought Michael (Oliver, the referee) and his staff were very good after that.

“Gamesmanship, whatever you want to call it, not against my team.

“Regardless of what happens, there’s no way we’re going out without a fight. Sometimes you need to defend your players. We needed that fight, that spark and intensity. I don’t want to be disrespectful to Forest, big congratulations to them for getting to the final, but we were the better team, the better players, I wanted us to show that, and I thought we did.”