Mishaps and injuries suffered by matchday staff and fans at Premier League stadiums have been revealed in response to Freedom of Information requests.

While supporters routinely receive updates on players’ hamstrings, groins and calves, the injury list of those working at, or attending, matches is rarely revealed.

But FOI requests to local authorities, which regulate top flight stadiums, have highlighted a painful list of traumas.

Among them is the man hit by a turnstile at Southampton, the fan whacked by a poor shot in the warm-up at Watford and a female staff member at Manchester United, who was scolded by an Exploding Coffee Machine.

Councils covering all 20 Premier League clubs were contacted in a survey by 101greatgoals.com. Six clubs were found to have logged serious accidents, seven had no reports and the authorities relating to the remaining seven clubs failed to respond to the request.

The clubs that reported the most incidents were Chelsea with seven, while Southampton and Manchester United had three each.

With 14 million fans attending Premier League matches in a typical season and clubs directly employing 12,000 staff, it is inevitable that some accidents will happen. 

At Watford’s Vicarage Road ground, a supporter was in his seat watching the warm up prior to a match against Newcastle in September when he was struck by what was described in the report as a “wayward” shot.

The ball snapped the fan’s wrist and he missed the team’s 1-1 draw with Toon, because he spent the game in hospital receiving treatment.

In another incident, at West Ham’s London Stadium, a female fan, 22, suffered a crushed foot, when a fire alarm triggered a shutter to be lowered automatically at a food kiosk and it came down on her tootsie, before she could move it out of the way.

The supporter, who was watching the Hammers 2-0 win over Rapid Vienna, was freed by staff but her foot was badly bruised.

At Stamford Bridge, the wind blew a heavy metal gate onto a Chelsea steward’s leg, breaking their ankle, while a security guard was reported to have been hurt when he tripped over a speed bump.

An employee at Manchester United was injured  as she tried to help a colleague with a shirt button, but took a tumble down a step and a member of staff was struck by a car as he cycled off after a shift.

Meanwhile, a member of the catering team at Old Trafford came a cropper when tackling a dysfunctional Coffee Machine.

The woman noticed the brew was too weak and when she opened the device to change the filter it spurted hot liquid over her face, neck and arms.

At Southampton, a supporter missed the Saints’ 1-0 home defeat to Newcastle in March 2020 after they were taken to hospital with concussion, following a collision with a turnstile as they entered the St Mary’s Stadium.

A maintenance worker was off for a week after injuring their back at Leicester City’s King Power stadium. The employee had been lifting heavy cables used to power LED boards around the pitch

The incidents, which all took place in the last two years, were recorded under health and safety at work legislation.

However, none of them appear as gruesome as the incident involving a West Ham fan, who lost a finger in the away end at Genk celebrating his side’s second goal in their 2-2 Europa League draw, earlier this season.

Footage circulated on social media showing the finger being picked up off the floor by a steward and placed on the fence in front of the travelling support.

Other supporters tried to hurry the stewards at the game in Belgium to get ice and were frustrated at the lack of urgency. West Ham later confirmed that a supporter had been injured.