Bristol City and Millwall clash ends in massive brawl between players and coaches

The Championship match between Bristol City and Millwall ended in chaos on Saturday, as players and staff clashed after the full-time whistle following a tense 1-0 defeat for the hosts

Tempers boiled over at Ashton Gate on Saturday as Bristol City and Millwall players and staff clashed after their Championship match.

The Robins were left frustrated, unable to break down the visitors who walked away with all three points. A second-half goal from Mihailo Ivanovic put Millwall in the lead, a position they just about managed to maintain. Despite three penalty appeals and a disallowed goal, Bristol City couldn’t find a way back into the game, leaving them empty-handed.

The tension reached boiling point at the final whistle, with Bristol City captain Jason Knight seemingly pushing Millwall manager Alex Neil on the sidelines. This ignited a brawl among both teams’ players and staff, with frustrations clearly running high.

The chaotic scenes marked a dramatic end to the Championship clash. The defeat leaves Bristol City in seventh place, just one point shy of the play-offs, but with an increasing gap to the top three, including Millwall.

Millwall’s victory solidified their third-place standing, only two points behind second-placed Middlesbrough, keeping their hopes for automatic promotion alive. It’s a testament to a league still in flux, with a mere nine points separating third from 16th place in the division.

Once things had settled down at Ashton Gate, both teams were able to share their perspectives on the incident. Neil was the first to address the media, explaining how a rejected handshake seemed to ignite the entire situation.

He stated: “I went to shake his [Bristol City boss Gerhard Struber’s] hand at the end of the game and he sort of pulled his hand away. We certainly weren’t instigators in that.”

Struber defended his position, as he responded after: “It’s a big joke. I will say this crystal clear. I showed him my hand twice and he was not ready to shake hands.”

It was a chaotic and tragic day across the league with two games abandoned. Charlton saw their early kick-off against Portsmouth suspended before it was abandoned when a supporter fell ill in a medical emergency. Tragically the fan was unable to be saved and passed away.

Blackburn Rovers’ clash against Sheffield Wednesday at Ewood Park was also halted and eventually abandoned due to a waterlogged pitch – the second time this season a game at Blackburn’s home has been called off due to pitch issues in adverse weather.