A CHEEKY Swindon Town fan burst onto the pitch to wind-up rival supporters – before he was pelted with tennis balls.
The incident occurred on Wednesday as Reading hosted the Robins at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
The Royals suffered relegation from the Championship last term and their opening to this campaign in League One has been marred by administration fears and a four-point deduction.
Fed-up fans have been venting their fury at the ownership of the club as they sit 22nd in the third tier.
A number of protests have been staged against owner Dai Yongge over recent weeks, which include supporters throwing tennis balls on the pitch.
But they got a bit of welcome relief from their dire league position as they took on Swindon in the EFL Trophy.
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Reading thrashed Swindon 5-0 thanks to a hat-trick from Harvey Knibbs and further strikes from Paul Mukairu and Harlee Dean.
However, during the encounter, a Swindon fan charged from the away end and raced towards the corner flag in front of the Reading supporters to wind them up over their troubles.
He goaded them by holding out his arms and appearing to chant at them before a number of tennis balls began being hurled towards him.
A number of irate fans then piled forward in the stand to try and get on to the pitch to confront the pitch invader, forcing sewards to hold them back.
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Another steward then managed to escort the lone Swindon supporter off the pitch before he was man-handled and taken out of the ground when another appeared on the scene.
But it was the Reading faithful that got the final say as the invader was taken through an exit in the corner right next to those who he had just been winding-up.
They continued to pelt and hurl abuse at the Swindon fan as the two stewards struggled to drag him past the baying mob.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk