'Disgusting' elbow incident in Welsh third tier: Man arrested on suspicion of assault after shocking clip goes viral

It has been confirmed that the man who swung his arm into the face of a rival has been taken into custody. The 35-year-old had figured in an Ardal North West League game between amateur outfits Trearddur Bay and Porthmadog FC on January 17.

Trearddur Bay announced the day after that fixture took place that one of their players, Tom Taylor, had been suspended after he was caught on camera delivering a sickening blow to a Porthmadog FC opponent. A second statement, which followed an emergency general meeting of the team’s committee, revealed that Taylor had subsequently been released. 

Footage of the alleged assault was captured by a spectator at Y Traeth (The Beach) stadium in Gwynedd. It did not take long to pick up traction, with Taylor’s actions being condemned by a global audience.

North Wales Police confirmed in an official statement that they were aware of the video, saying: “Officers have been making enquiries to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident. As part of this investigation, a 35-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of assault. He remains in police custody at this time. Enquiries are ongoing and we would ask members of the public not to speculate whilst the investigation continues.”

The Football Association of Wales (FAW) said in a statement given to BBC Sport, with their own investigation now taking place: “Tier-three matches fall under the jurisdiction of the FAW. The FAW is aware of the incident and will be reviewing it.”

Match data shows that no red card was handed out at the time, with Porthmadog winger Danny Brookwell the man left on the ground. His side went on to win the game in question 3-2. The official match report stated that were “long delays, bad fouls and off-the-ball incidents which resulted in a massive 12 minutes of added time”.

Trearddur Bay said in their statement confirming Taylor’s release from their squad: “Trearddur Bay Football Club does not condone violence in any form and acknowledges that the incident should not have occurred.

“The club offers its sincere apologies to the opposition player involved, Porthmadog FC, match officials, supporters, and the wider football community. The club will fully cooperate with any external investigations or disciplinary processes and will make no further comment at this time while these matters are ongoing.”

Porthmadog said when delivering an update on their player: “The club would like to emphasise that its major concern is for the welfare and safety of our player Danny Brookwell. Danny was concussed and following treatment had to leave the field of play. It is our understanding that he is recovering at home.”

James Roberts, who posted the footage on X, said the scenes that he witnessed were “absolutely disgusting” and suggested that the player responsible for the elbow “should get banned for life”.

He stated that “nothing happened” when asked what action the match officials took, adding that “fans showed the vid to the ref but he couldn’t do anything about it because it was too late”.