Connolly, 30, confronted the man in the Brentford section of the crowd at Griffin Park and appeared to swing an arm after the ball was thrown to him powerfully as he went to retrieve it for a throw-in.

Brentford won the game 1-0 thanks to a 58th-minute goal from Jonathan Douglas, the midfielder glancing home a header from Alan Judge's left-wing cross.

The second-placed Bees are now nine points clear of third-placed Rotherham with five games remaining after the Millers went down 1-0 in their South Yorkshire derby showdown with Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

The Blades secured a confidence-boosting win ahead of Sunday's FA Cup semi-final against Hull City at Wembley through a last-minute penalty from Ben Davies.

The midfielder kept his cool to net from the spot after Craig Morgan was penalised for a challenge on Harry Maguire.

Rotherham now look destined for a play-off spot along with sixth-placed Peterborough who moved six points ahead of seventh-placed MK Dons with a 2-0 home victory over Gillingham.

Britt Assombalonga's 30th goal of the season put Posh ahead in the 42nd minute with Tommy Rowe adding a second goal with a 20-yard drive in the 58th minute in a dominant display.

Assombalonga later earned a penalty when brought down by Bradley Dack but saw his tame effort from the spot saved by Stuart Nelson.

In Sky Bet League Two, Plymouth closed within two points of a play-off place by winning 2-1 at Newport County.

Tyler Harvey (21) and Conor Hourihane (30) were on target for Argyle, either side of Chris Zebroski's goal (27) for the hosts.