Unsavoury Scenes Between West Brom and Wolves Supporters Overshadow FA Cup Clash

Wolverhampton Wanderers' 2-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday was the scene of unpleasant clashes between the supporters of both clubs.

The match had to be halted for 38 minutes in the latter stages of the contest as a large presence of police officers and stewards attempted to de-escalate the worrying situation.

The behaviour at the game was described as "dangerous and inexcusable" by the Football Association, who have announced an investigation into the trouble at The Hawthorns.

Tensions were high going into the Black Country derby, with it being the first meeting between the two teams in front of fans since 2012.

Earlier instances in the game highlighted the bad blood present at the match, including Wolves' midfielder, Tommy Doyle, being targeted with objects from the home crowd. Also, Pedro Neto's opener for the away side led to two orange flares being let off by supporters in the visiting section.

The main disruption during the FA Cup tie occurred when Wolves striker, Matheus Cunha, put his side 2-0 up in the 78^th minute.

Wolves had a large presence at the ground, with close to 4000 supporters placed in the allocated away end, however, some fans of the away side were located in sections of the home crowd.

Cunha's goal prompted celebrations from those Wolves supporters who were in the home side's allocated area. This led to fights occurring in the stands between the two sets of fans and led to some fans attempting to storm the pitch and get involved in the scuffles.

Multiple missiles were thrown by both sets of fans whilst the police escorted one supporter out of the home section to get medically treated as heavy amounts of blood were pouring out from his head. Another supporter was seen being taken away from the stands on a stretcher due to being injured in the clashes.

The crowd troubles occurred mostly in the Halfords Lane Stand, which is where family members of the West Brom players were in attendance. West Brom centre-back, Kyle Bartley, had to reach out to get his family, including his two children, down and away from that area of the ground.

Amidst the ongoing trouble in the crowd, players were subsequently led off the pitch in the 83^rd minute of the match as riot police were called in to help deal with the situation.

The game eventually resumed with extra security being deployed around sections of the pitch and Wolves were able to see out the contest and secure the 2-0 victory.

West Midlands Police confirmed that six supporters were arrested at the match in total, with five being for public order offences at the time of the main disturbance. Some of the offences included one fan punching a police officer and one fan taking a corner flag to use as a weapon.

One supporter was arrested before the match due to carrying an offensive weapon.

Four of the people arrested were West Brom fans with the other two supporting the away side. All have since been bailed and released but investigations into their offences will continue.

Chief Inspector of West Midlands Police, Tim Robinson, addressed the crowd disturbance from Sunday's game and outlined the actions that will be taken.

He announced: "What we saw yesterday was completely unacceptable violence directed at both fans and officers. We'll be working with both clubs and the FA. Those involved in the disorder can expect to receive club bans and wider football banning orders."

Robinson also stressed that further arrests could be carried out by West Midlands Police, stating: "We have already started the process of reviewing evidence including body worn video and CCTV to ensure that we identify and arrest all of those involved over the coming days and weeks."

West Brom announced its plans to come down hard on those culpable of the unpleasant scenes. The club's official statement read: "Any individual involved in the disorder will be subject to a club ban, in addition to potential criminal investigation."

The unsavoury fan disturbances at the Black Country derby will be a concern for all the relevant authorities as it may be a sign of the current behavioural actions of football fans across the nation.

Last season saw 2264 football-related arrests be made across England and Wales, which was an increase of 66 from the season prior. The figure was also the highest since the 2013/2014 campaign.