The event occurred during the 72nd minute of Saturday’s Championship game at Fratton Park.

Dermot Gallagher, a former Premier League referee, says official Ben Speedie was in a ‘no win situation’ during Saturday’s dispute at Fratton Park between a Pompey supporter and Cardiff City’s Krystian Bielik.

Meanwhile, Blues title winner Tim Sherwood insists the evidence is ‘clear’ and is convinced the appropriate consequences will be imposed in due course.

The incident took place in the 72nd minute of Pompey’s 2-0 win against the Bluebirds when the defender confronted a young supporter in the South Stand whilst attempting to reclaim the ball.

Social media footage appears to show Bielik grasping the teenager around the upper torso, with the supporter being escorted from his seat by match officials while the Cardiff man went unpunished by Speedie.

Pompey has already issued a statement confirming that the club and Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary are investigating the incident, which is also being reviewed by the Football Association.

Indeed, Gallagher, who refereed over 200 top-flight matches in his career, maintained that referee Speedie did his best by allowing the FA to decide on punishment.

Sky Sports analysts’ reaction to incident involving Pompey fan and Cardiff defender

Speaking on Sky Sports’ Ref Watch, the former official said: ‘I have no clue (what punishment the FA could dole out to Belik) because it’s everything in that cameo slot that I don’t want to see in football, and millions and millions of football fans don’t want to watch.

‘Neither the athlete nor the crowd should have done what they did.

‘The referee is in a no-win situation. I believe he has done the best thing by simply reporting it to the FA and asking them to decide what the best consequence is in accordance with their laws.

‘It all depends on the referee and what he witnessed. We do not know where the referee was at the moment or what he witnessed.

If you score a goal, my emphasis as a referee is on you; if the ball goes out for a throw-in, my focus may be on checking something out or getting into my next position.

Sherwood, who appeared 33 times for Pompey during an 18-month spell from 2003 to 2004, is convinced the FA will reach the correct conclusion after analysing the tape.

‘I don’t think the referee has seen everything, therefore he may not have all of the information. But I believe it’s quite evident.

‘There’s a whole screen there for anyone to study now; if there is any retrospective punishment coming to anyone, I’m sure we’ll find out in due time.

‘I believe he (the referee) simply wants to get on with it. I have played there. The crowd is focused on you, which is why it’s such an excellent venue to play football.

‘I am not saying anything negative about Fratton Park, but that is the pleasure of being a Portsmouth player. They’re on you, and they’re all involved in the activity.

Meanwhile, former Cardiff City striker Jay Bothroyd, who joined Gallagher and Sherwood in the Sky Sports studio, was astonished Bielik was not sent off after receiving a yellow card.

‘The one thing I would say is that the athlete has already interacted with the fan.

I’m surprised he didn’t get a yellow card for that, because we’re usually advised not to interact with the crowd on the pitch. You have to be professional in that regard.

‘Given his involvement, I’m amazed he didn’t receive a yellow.

‘We obviously can’t see what happened, and you have to wait for a report, but it’s surprised he didn’t receive a yellow card.’