Oli McBurnie speaks out after Sheffield United striker is cleared of Nottingham Forest play-off charge - what he said

The 26-year-old was acquired of assault by beating after a two day trial at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court, which saw McBurnie deny he had stamped on Nottingham Forest fan George Brinkley after United’s play-off final defeat to the Reds at the City Ground back in May.

McBurnie maintained he was trying to step over Brinkley after he had ran onto the City Ground pitch, with district judge Leo Pyle saying his judgment was based on evidence heard in court and "not the instant judgment of social media".

In his ruling, the district judge said some of the evidence given by alleged victim Mr Brinkley had been "somewhat flimsy".

United released a statement after the verdict saying that McBurnie, his legal team and officials at Bramall Lane were “disappointed that he was forced to stand trial after the traumatic scenes … when Oliver's team-mate, Billy Sharp, was violently assaulted.”

Sharp was headbutted by a Forest fan, who was later jailed for six months.

And, posting on Instagram, McBurnie said: “[It’s] been a mad few months, had to hold my tongue and hear a lot of lies told about me.

"Over the moon with the outcome in court today, although I'm not quite sure how it got that far.

"I will come out and say a lot more when the dust settles but what I can say for now is thank you to my team for their hard work, and everyone for the ongoing support.

"The truth always comes out in the end.”

A spokesperson for The English Football League said: “The EFL notes this afternoon’s verdict from Nottingham Magistrates Court which saw Sheffield United’s Oli McBurnie cleared of charges against him.

“It is a criminal offence for fans to enter the field of play, and therefore Oli should never have been put in this position.

“It is imperative that all players must feel safe in their place of work and there must be no doubt that the pitch is for participants and the stands for spectators.

"Given the circumstances we were surprised that charges were brought against Oli and would ask that a review is undertaken as a priority by the police.”