The defender had to be dragged away by team-mate Joelinton (Pictures: AFP / Sky Sports)
Kieran Trippier has played down his heated altercation with a Newcastle United fan following Saturday evening’s 2-0 defeat away to Bournemouth.
The Magpies, who are missing a host of players, were looking to bounce back from a midweek defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League but were second best throughout against Andoni Iraola’s side.
They fell behind on the hour-mark when Dominic Solanke capitalised on a loose ball in behind and fired home at the near post, before an audacious flick in the 73rd minute wrapped up the win.
In truth, Bournemouth could have scored even more and Newcastle looked very vulnerable defensively, giving up 19 shots in the match – 10 of which were on target.
When the full-time whistle was blown, Trippier was seen walking over to a section of the travelling supporters and appeared to be arguing quite forcefully with one in particular.
A steward intervened and pushed Trippier away before Joelinton ran over to drag the defender back to the centre circle, where the rest of the team were congregating.
Trippier appeared to mouth to manager Eddie Howe that the supporter had thrown a few unpleasantries his way but he played down the incident afterwards and asked fans to get behind the team during a difficult period.
Trippier did not look at all happy with what was said (Picture: Getty)
Howe calmed Trippier down after his altercation (Picture: Getty)
Asked what was said between himself and the fan, Trippier told Sky Sports: ‘The fans are emotional, of course they are. They have travelled a long way, they spend a lot of money to come and watch us.
‘I was just having a chat with one of them, I said we are giving everything.
‘There is no need to panic, we are still in a good position in the league, we are still in the Champions League, Carabao Cup quarter-finals, there is no need to panic.
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‘We got beat, we do apologise for that result, but the most important thing is that the lads are giving everything. We are giving more under the circumstances.’
Eddie Howe was also asked about the incident and replied: ‘I did see that. I think it’s high emotions at the end of games.
‘We really appreciate our away support, everyone is valued and we’re just disappointed with the result.’
He added: ‘Kieran’s fine. Emotions run high. We all feel a bit emotional after that. No problems with our away support.’
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The defender had to be dragged away by team-mate Joelinton.
