Newcastle fan charged for encroaching onto pitch during Tyne-Wear derby

John West, a 35-year-old Newcastle supporter, has also been handed an interim football banning order

Aleksandar Mitrovic leaps into a Newcastle supporter who entered the field of play (GETTY IMAGES)

Northumbria Police have charged a man for encroaching onto the field of play during Newcastle United’s 1-1 draw with North East rivals Sunderland.

John West, a 35-year-old Newcastle supporter, has also been handed an interim football banning order in effect until his first appearance at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court on April 6.

A member of the home faithful was filmed by television cameras racing onto the pitch to celebrate with Aleksandar Mitrovic after the Serbian had scored an 83rd minute equaliser in a match billed as the biggest Tyne-Wear derby in the history of the fixture.

Steve Neill, Northumbria Police chief superintendent, said: “I want to praise football fans who attended the Tyne-Wear derby and behaved impeccably at what was a very tense occasion.

“We understand how important this fixture is to the people of this region and we recognised our policing plan needed to reflect that. That plan saw us work closely with partners and I want to thank them personally for all their efforts in making this operation such a success.”

Reports by Sky Sports suggest police made a total of 20 arrests at the match, staged in front of 52,311 spectators at St James’ Park, 16 of which were made outside the stadium, while 19 of them involved men.