London police are to investigate the incident that saw Chelsea striker Didier Drogba throw a coin back into the crowd during his team’s League Cup defeat at home to Burnley Wednesday.
Drogba, who apologized for his behavior after the match, threw an object back into the section of Burnley supporters behind the goal moments after he had given his team the lead. Drogba also gestured at the fans, prompting him to be cautioned by the referee.
“I tried to celebrate the goal and I received some things [thrown] at me,” Drogba said in a statement. “The big mistake I did was to throw it back so if someone was hurt I just want to apologize for it. It was an incident in the heat of the moment and I regret it. It was just a mistake and nothing more.”
As well as the police investigation, Drogba will likely be punished too by the English soccer authorities. In 2002, Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher was sent off in an FA Cup game against Arsenal at Highbury after throwing a coin back into the crowd. He received a mandatory three-match ban from the English FA.