Police have arrested a 21-year-old in connection with the attack on Chris Kirkland. The man was believed to have been picked-up in Cheltenham on Sunday lunchtime.
Around 1pm the Gloucestershire force announced " "The investigation is being led by South Yorkshire police. The man currently remains in police custody.
The Daily Mirror yesterday named Aaron Cawley as the suspect, a convicted football hooligan from Cheltenham who unfortunately chose to attach himself to our great club.Cawley has previous and plenty of it, he was banned from every football ground in the country aged just 16 for taking part in the violence after the fateful Leeds v Ipswich game in 2007 when we were relegated to League One (crying fan at that game pictured above) and has since breached the order on THREE occasions.
The last was in September 2011 when he was caught the previous November heading to Coventry in possession of a rail and match ticket. The order prohibits him from travelling to a city where Leeds are playing on the day of a game. Cawley claimed he was heading to the Bull Ring in Birmingham!
Despite being caught red-handed, Cawley declared "I am not a hooligan. I just want to watch Leeds play again."
Proof that he is clearly not the sharpest tool in the box came yesterday when he posted "Chris Kirkland doesn’t want to press charges. That’s a proper result that is.
"Just to let you no got home safe and sound just had sex and just been for s***.
"And feel sorry for all you mugs phoning my old number enjoy.
"Fair play to the mindless tails that wanna grass me up tell someone who gives a f***”
A mobile number allegedly belonging to Cawley had been circulated on the Internet.
As the heat closed in on Cawley, the coward deleted his Facebook page, however The Sun lifted a couple of photographs from it including one of a bespectacled Cawley as a child posing with former Whites' striker Robbie Keane.
Cawley will no doubt be transferred up to South Yorkshire at some point to face charges and lets hope he is remanded in custody.
We still await the wisdom of Ken Bates on this incident, however he will surely be enjoying a glass of Sancerre or two with his Sunday Roast in the knowledge that somebody who is more unpopular and unwelcome at Elland Road does actually exist!