West Brom's Brunt hit by coin thrown by own fan

West Brom midfielder Chris Brunt was left "disgusted and ashamed" after he was struck by a coin thrown by one of the team's supporters following their FA Cup defeat at Reading.

The coin struck Brunt just below his left eye as he went to applaud the visiting contingent seconds after the final whistle, prompting the Northern Ireland international to gesticulate angrily as he sought to find the culprit.

"I was walking towards our supporters at the end and they thought it was okay to throw a coin at their own players," he told the BBC afterwards.

"I'm disgusted. If they want to come forward and say they don't like what they've seen then that's fine.

"Fans are frustrated we were 1-0 up and lost.

"They paid a lot of money to come, but a small minority spoilt it.

"There were young kids there. I was absolutely disgusted and ashamed."

He added: "The guy who threw it knows who he is and knows all this week where I'll be.

"Next Saturday if he wants to come and have a word about it that's not a problem - I'll meet him wherever he wants.

"I've been here a long time and I've loved my time here and that's the first time I've been ashamed of our supporters.

"A small minority obviously ruined it for the rest of the 4,000 who were there and paid good money for a day trip.

"Obviously we've let them down but words can't describe that."

West Brom took the lead through Darren Fletcher but went down 3-1 after goals by Paul McShane, Michael Hector and Lucas Piazon.

On Brunt being struck by a coin, manager Tony Pulis said: "I hope the police get involved, because for me that's criminal.

"This has got to be one of the worst things I've ever seen.

"He's got a cut just under his eye, it's an inch away from striking him in his eye."