BIRMINGHAM - AN ASTON Villa fan was charged on Tuesday for throwing a coin that cut a referee's assistant on the head.

Prosecutor Martin Lindop said that there was sufficient evidence to charge 43-year-old John Billington with battery over the incident at the Oct 18 match at Villa Park against Portsmouth.

Then-Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp was heckled throughout the 0-0 draw over his arrest as part of a fraud investigation and the coin was apparently aimed at him. It instead hit Phil Sharp, who required treatment for a cut before being able to complete the game.

Billington will appear at Birmingham Magistrates' Court on Thursday.

The Football Association said in October that whoever threw the coin should be banned from Villa Park for life. Villa agreed and said it would help police to find the culprit.

Redknapp has not been charged and has won a claim against police that an early morning raid on his house as part of the inquiry was illegal. -- AP