The Football Association (FA) will launch an investigation into the crowd trouble which caused Wolves’ 2-0 win over Black Country rivals West Brom to be suspended for over 30 minutes, describing the scenes as “inexcusable” and “unacceptable”.
Wolves kept their FA Cup run alive with a first win at the Hawthorns since 1996 on Sunday, with goals from Pedro Neto and Matheus Cunha guiding Gary O’Neil’s men past their Championship opponents.
However, their victory was marred by crowd trouble which broke out in the immediate aftermath of Cunha’s goal, which came with 12 minutes to play.
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Unsavoury scenes broke out at the opposite end of the field as a number of West Brom fans encroached on the playing area, while the hosts’ captain Kyle Bartley was seen taking a child out of the affected area of the ground.
There were also flashpoints at the end of the stadium housing the 4,000 travelling Wolves fans, with missiles being thrown between the two sets of supporters.
Social media footage showed one man being escorted from a home area with blood streaming down his face, while another man was carried out of the stadium on a stretcher.
With order restored, the two teams were able to return to the field and complete the game after a delay of over 30 minutes, with Wolves holding their neighbours at bay.
— FA Spokesperson (@FAspokesperson) January 28, 2024
In a statement released after the match, the FA said: “The disorder that occurred at the Black Country derby between West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers is completely unacceptable.
“Safety and security are of the utmost importance, and the behaviour of those involved is dangerous and inexcusable.
“We will be investigating these serious incidents alongside the clubs and the relevant authorities, and the appropriate action will be taken.”
Speaking at his post-match press conference, Wolves head coach O’Neil said: “I didn’t see much, from where I am it’s impossible to know what’s going on.
“It’s really disappointing, anybody who wants to come and watch a football match should feel safe, young children and elderly people could be in that area. We shouldn’t have to discuss incidents like that because they shouldn’t happen.
“I think it was really disappointing because it’s obviously a big game, but I think the respect between the players on the pitch was really good.”
West Brom boss Corberan echoed those sentiments as he confirmed reports that players’ family members were in the affected area of the stadium, saying: “Of course, we are disappointed with any type of incident like that.
“We want to be safe and just focus on the football. Unfortunately, the game was interrupted by this incident and now, we are unable to talk about the atmosphere our fans created, we can’t talk about this aspect.
“The incident happened in one area where the families were, we don’t want to worry about these things. Everything before the incident was unbelievable.”
