A FOOTBALL match was abandoned after fans were embroiled in fights, stewards were attacked and flares throw on the pitch.
The non-league clash between local rivals Tamworth and Nuneaton Borough saw the game abandoned after 60 minutes on police and match official advice.
The match in the Southern League Premier Central – the seventh tier of English football – saw Tamworth beating their opponents 2-0 before fan trouble forced the game to be abandoned.
A Tamworth club statement read: “A keenly contested football match between two local rivals was being enjoyed by the vast majority of the 2156 crowd inside the Lamb ground on Tuesday evening.
“The date of this fixture was selected by the Southern League following the original date not being available due to Tamworth’s involvement in the FA Trophy.
“In line with league rules, this game had to be played within 42 days of the original date.
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“Unfortunately, a very small minority of Nuneaton supporters in their segregated area instigated ugly scenes by throwing flares and other objects onto the pitch and into a group of Tamworth supporters when the home side scored their second goal.
“The stewarding team, which had been supplemented by an outside company, worked very hard to restore order.
“At that point, the Tamworth supporters were asked to move away from the top end of the ground to create a sterile area from the halfway line and we would like to thank them for their orderly manner and swift evacuation to other parts of the ground.”
Staffordshire Police had sent officers into Tamworth town centre an hour before kick-off to escort fans to the ground amid reports of “emerging tensions between a minority of fans.”
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Police, who were aware of the fixture, were also informed of damage dealt to the away end toilets at the ground.
Tamworth’s statement added: “Tamworth Football Club totally condemns this behaviour which spoiled a very good evening and should have been a showcase for Non-League Football.
“We are now working with the Police to identify the perpetrators of this behaviour using CCTV, social media and still photographs.
“The incident is being investigated by the authorities and we will update supporters once we are aware of the outcomes.”
No arrests were made at the time of the incident, but Police confirmed they had identified a number of suspects and “will be taking appropriate action.”
The force also confirmed that two stewards reported being assaulted while another fan suffered a non-life-threatening head injury following a fall.
Nuneaton also released a statement condemning the acts seen at the game and confirmed they would be working with the relevant parties to ensure it would not happen again.
It read: “Nuneaton Borough FC are deeply saddened and disappointed at the turn of events that led to the abandonment of last night’s Southern League Premier Central fixture at the Lamb against Tamworth FC.
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“In what should have been a showcase event for non-league football as a whole, the actions of a small minority of ‘so-called’ football fans has turned this into a worst-case scenario outcome for both clubs…
“We will now hopefully be working closely with Tamworth FC, the league, the FA and all relevant local authorities to ensure that we do everything within our power to stop this happening again in the future and change the culture that leads to these kind of incidents.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
