Club apologises after footballer suffers horrific cut in match

Defender Dan Cox, 28, was left needing stitches after his right hand was sliced by broken bottle as he slid in for a cross.

The retained firefighter, from Bognor, said: “I had gone to beat the player in the final third and got a sliding cross in. I didn’t think anything of it. Then one player said my hand was bleeding. I looked down and it was pouring blood.”

Dan was treated at St Richard’s Hospital, Chichester. He added: “It was just an inch away from my wrist, so it could have been a lot worse.”

The injury means Dan cannot work for the fire service until his hand heals. It is also affecting his work as a recruitment consultant.

Seaford’s chairman Bob Thomsett said it was a very unfortunate incident and has apologised. He believed the glass was thrown on the pitch by a youth.

“We’re obviously awfully sorry that it happened because no one wants to see that,” he said. “Unfortunately we have got, like most towns, an element of youth that don’t think about the consequences of their actions.”

Mr Thomsett explained a pitch inspection had been conducted before the match and that no glass was spotted.

“It was a brown bottle which could have been in the ground for quite a while,” he added.

The chairman said a new CCTV system and improved fencing had recently been installed to boost security.