NEW YORK — Two New York Yankees fans ejected from Game 4 of the World Series for interfering with Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts were banned from Game 5 Wednesday night.

Betts jumped the wall in foul territory and initially caught the ball from Gleyber Torres in the first inning Tuesday night, but a fan in the front row in a gray Yankees road jersey, Austin Capobianco, caught Betts’ glove with both hands and pulled the ball out. Another fan, John Peter, grabbed Betts’ ungloved hand.

The Yankees announced in a statement Wednesday that fans “will not be permitted to attend tonight’s game in any capacity” and added that Tuesday night’s incident with Betts was “egregious and unacceptable.”

“Yankee Stadium is known for its energy and intensity, but the exuberance of supporting your team can never cross the line and intentionally put players in physical danger,” the team said in its statement. “The Yankees and Major League Baseball maintain a zero-tolerance policy toward the type of behavior displayed last night. The safety and security of players, fans and stadium staff is the fundamental element of every event held at Yankee Stadium, and it cannot be compromised.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday that he doesn’t think his players are worried about their safety at Yankee Stadium and he thinks banning fans involved is an appropriate step.

“If there’s one player I don’t think is worried about, it would be Mookie, considering he’s played a lot of games in this stadium (with rival Boston). It was just an unfortunate circumstance. I’m glad it was handled the right way, and we can just move on to tonight,” Roberts said. “As I understand it, they were expelled. We didn’t need them to be here, so they refunded their tickets. So it’s perfect, right?

Yankees manager Aaron Boone also agreed with the decision.

“Not good. There’s no room for that. It’s that simple,” Boone said Wednesday. “Come here, cheer, support your team, whatever. No room for that. I should never lay my hands on anyone.

The team said it donated Game 5 tickets to fans to a sick child and his family who were unable to attend a children’s-only news conference at the ballpark in September to mark COVID-19 Awareness Month. childhood cancer.

ESPN’s Jesse Rogers, citing an anonymous source, reported that it was not immediately clear whether the ban against season-ticket holder Capobianco and Peter would apply to all games at Yankee Stadium next season .

Capobianco told ESPN that the Yankees refunded him the price of Game 5 tickets and also informed him that he would be arrested if he tried to attend the game.

“We are hoping for a short-term ban,” Capobianco told ESPN. “We don’t want to lose subscriptions.”

The Major League Baseball Players Association also expressed concerns about the safety and security of players.

“As with any incident at the stadium that affects players, we have been in regular contact with league security officials since last night’s incident and will closely monitor the response to this incident and the protective measures taken starting this evening,” the statement said. the union said in a statement.

Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández said he didn’t think there was anything to worry about Wednesday night.

“I played here for six years against the Yankees, and I never saw anything wrong with the opposing team,” he said.

“The fans know they can’t do that, what this fan did last night,” Hernández added. “It happens, but unfortunately for him, he’s going to think about that play from last night for a long time. …I’ve never seen anything like this, but now that I see pictures and videos and all that, it’s kind of crazy.

The Dodgers had a two-run lead at the time of the incident thanks to Freddie Freeman’s two-run homer. Betts reacted angrily in the moment, but quickly calmed down when Torres was immediately called out by the referees for fan interference.

“When it comes to the person on the line, it doesn’t matter,” Betts said after the Yankees extended the series with an 11-4 victory. “We lost. It’s not relevant. I’m doing well. He’s fine. Everything is cool. We lost the game and that’s what I’m focusing on. We need to turn the page and prepare for tomorrow.

Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo was happy the situation didn’t become serious.

“I saw it. This was perhaps one of the most extreme: trying to snatch a ball. But at the same time, it’s a bit New York. I feel like that’s what you’re expecting here. You expect unique things,” Verdugo said Wednesday.

“In the end, I didn’t think it was too serious. I think Mookie kind of got rid of that too. It’s just kind of the passion, I guess, of New Yorkers.

Three years ago, Verdugo was playing outfield for the Red Sox when he was hit in the back by a ball thrown from the left field seats at Yankee Stadium. He was not injured.

Boston manager Alex Cora briefly withdrew his team from the field that night, and the fan who threw the ball was banned for life from attending major league games.

The following season, fans in the notoriously noisy right-field bleachers at Yankee Stadium pelted Cleveland Guardians outfielders with bottles, cans and other debris in a chaotic scene after New York rallied for a victory without exit.

Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and other Yankees players rushed to the outfield fence, trying to calm the crowd.