Six arrested as fans condemn West Brom v Wolves crowd trouble

Crowd trouble in the FA Cup match between local rivals West Brom and Wolves was described as “pathetic” and “ridiculous” by fans at the game.

The first Black Country derby for 12 years was suspended for 38 minutes on Sunday at the Hawthorns.

Missiles were thrown, fights broke out and as fans spilled on to the pitch, players returned to the dressing rooms.

Six people were arrested, police said, including one suspected of brandishing a corner flag as a weapon and another on suspicion of throwing punches at police officers.

One supporter told BBC Radio WM after the game: “The behaviour in there is awful, there’s trouble all over the stadium. It’s not about the football then…and that’s what’s really, really sad.”

Another called the scenes “pathetic” with one fan describing the people involved as “absolute morons”.

“It’s stupid, it’s a football game not a fight. Why do they do this? No intelligence at all, ridiculous," another said.

The Football Association launched an investigation after the game and West Brom condemned the violence that took place.

Jez Constantinou said he was at the other end of the ground from where the trouble started.

"We could see pretty much everything that was going on and could see it was escalating and becoming more intense as time went on," he added.

He said it was apparent that there were Wolves fans in the home section of the stadium and described riot police "batoning back" West Brom fans trying to get on the pitch.

West Midlands Police confirmed four West Brom supporters and two Wolves fans were arrested with all released under investigation.

Ch Insp Tim Robinson described the violence as "completely unacceptable".

“No football fan wants to see that. It’s important to stress however that it was very much a minority of fans involved in the trouble, and the vast majority of supporters were a credit to their clubs," he said.

One man was taken to hospital with head injuries.

Radio WM’s Mike Taylor, who was at the game, said: “It soured the day for a lot of people.

“I’m sure some people will remember who won but a lot of people will remember how they felt being there.”

Before the game was suspended, flares were lit in the stadium, a beer bottle was thrown towards a Wolves player and more missiles were thrown in the ground.

The suspension came after Wolves took a 2-0 lead in the 78th minute and some West Brom players went into the stand to remove their children.

Later, the West Brom manager Carlos Corberan confirmed none of his players' family members had been harmed.

A spokesperson for West Bromwich Albion said the club condemned the scenes “in the strongest terms”.

They added the club would work with police and the FA to investigate and confirmed anyone involved would be subjected to a club ban.

Wolves manager Gary O’Neil described the violence as “disappointing” and said it had been a good tie up until that point.