Aston Villa have this evening condemned the incident that led to assistant referee Phil Sharp being injured near the end of the Barclays Premier League game with Portsmouth.

The club will issue a life ban to any individual found guilty of throwing the coin that injured the official.

And the FA have also said that their investigation will focus on finding the culprit - not on punishing the club.

Sharp was hit by a 50p piece and suffered a cut above his right eye.

Martin O'Neill added his voice to the condemnation of the incident.

He said: "It is unacceptable, absolutely unacceptable. It shouldn't be there.

"I turned to the fourth official and he told me there were four minutes of added time and then the next thing you know, the linesman is on the floor after being hit by a coin.

"It is just unacceptable and there's no place for it in the game whatsoever.

"From our own point of view, the club are making good strides. Since the chairman has come in, we have become a real supporter-friendly football club with a really good atmosphere so this is all terribly disappointing. It's just mindless!"