Moment Soccer Star Regrets Kicking Ball Into Crowd Hitting Woman and Child

A Major League Soccer star has issued an apology after footage of him petulantly kicking a ball into the stands, which struck a female fan and young child, went viral.

New York Red Bulls midfielder Dru Yearwood told fans "my emotions got the better of me" after he received a red card for booting the ball off the pitch in an apparent show of frustration during Saturday's 2-0 loss to Philadelphia Union.

In doing so, however, the 22-year-old ended up unintentionally striking two Red Bulls fans watching on from the bleachers at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

The footage, has gone viral on Twitter.

As soon as he realised what had happened, Yearwood climbed over the hoardings around the field of play and made his way up into the stands in an attempt to try and apologize to the supporters who were struck by the ball.

However, as footage widely circulating on social media shows, the English midfielder's attempts at making amends were rebuffed by a fan who blocked the midfielder's route to the two stricken fans.

At one point, the fan threw a scarf in the direction of Yearwood, who looked remorseful and eager to make amends throughout the interaction. Based on footage of the incident, it would appear that a young boy and a female fan were struck by the ball, which hit them with force at close range.

To make matters worse, as he made his way back to the pitch, Yearwood was shown two yellow cards by referee Tim Ford; the first for an initial foul and the second for kicking the ball into the stands.

The resulting red card saw him exit the field of play, hanging his head and attempting to cover his face with his shirt in a show of apparent shame at his actions. As Yearwood departed the pitch, chants of "a**hole" could be heard ringing around the stadium.

In a statement issued via the New York Red Bulls website, Yearwood said he was sorry for the incident.

"I want to apologize from the bottom of my heart to the fans who [were] hit by the ball I kicked at Saturday's match," he said.

"My emotions got the best of me on this day, and I've let down the entire organization and every single New York Red Bulls fan. I hope the fans are OK and that they can forgive me."

A Red Bulls spokesperson said: "The safety of everyone that attends our events at Red Bull Arena is of utmost importance to our organization.

"Dru is incredibly remorseful and knows his actions were inexcusable. We will take measures to discourage this from occurring again. We, along with Dru, will continue to stay in contact with the families to check on their well-being."

Yearwood was evidently frustrated as Philadelphia Union tightened their grip on the lead at the top of the Eastern Conference, moving them one step closer to next year's Concacaf Champions League.

Despite the Red Bulls' defeat, their sixth home defeat of the season, they remain in a strong position to qualify for the end-of-season playoffs, currently sitting third in the Eastern Conference.

Yearwood, who is from Harlow in England, spent four years at the Arsenal youth academy before playing for Southend United and current English Premier League side Brentford.

He now faces a suspension which will see him miss Red Bulls next game against the New England Revolution.