Fireworks thugs face football ban, police warn

A 26-year-old woman suffered a leg injury and a 13-year-old boy needed treatment to his eyes, but police say the casualties coiuld have been “so much worse”.

Chief Inspector Neil Mitchell, who headed security operations at the match, said: “Once again it is extremely disappointing and worrying that despite repeated warnings about the risk pyrotechnics bring, a small minority continue to smuggle them into matches.

“The vast majority of those who attended the match were well -behaved and enjoyed the game. However, following the actions of a small group of their fellow supporters, two people were injured.

“It is only down to luck that their injuries were minor. If this continues it can only be a matter of time before someone is injured more seriously.

“One of my officers was also struck by a coin thrown from the same group of supporters . This is also unacceptable and will not be tolerated”.

He added: “We have a retrospective investigation ongoing and are working closely with both clubs to identify those responsible. I can confirm that we are following a positive line of enquiry.

“I urge anyone at the game who witnessed the use of these pyrotechnics and can assist in our enquiries to contact police on 101, quoting incident number 2394 of September 25b2019.

“We will deal with all those responsible in a robust manner including seeking football banning orders through the courts.”