Attendance problems between West Brom and Wolves: The FA Cup game was interrupted for 38 minutes

January 28, 2024, 1:31 p.m. GMT

Updated 26 minutes ago

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West Brom v Wolves suspended due to crowd unrest

The Football Association has launched an investigation after West Brom were suspended for 38 minutes following their FA Cup defeat to local rivals Wolves due to “completely unacceptable” crowd problems at the Hawthorns.

According to the police, two arrests were made and one man is in hospital with head injuries.

Trouble flared after Wolves took a 2-0 lead in the 78th minute.

The fighting began at the corner of West Stand and Birmingham Road and ended while rockets were fired elsewhere.

While the fans entered the field, the players returned to the locker rooms.

“The disruption that occurred at the Black Country derby between West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers is completely unacceptable,” the FA said in a statement.

“Safety is of the utmost importance and the behavior of those involved is dangerous and inexcusable.”

“We will investigate these serious incidents and take appropriate action.”

West Brom said they “strongly condemn the disgusting scenes” and that they would work with West Midlands Police and the FA to support their investigation.

The Championship club added that “any person involved in the disruption will be subject to a club ban”.

After police restored order, the players returned to the pitch to begin warming up shortly after 13:50 GMT. The game resumed 10 minutes later.

“We had extra officers at this local derby and they responded immediately when commotion in the stands led to fans streaming onto the pitch,” West Midlands Police said.

“Two people were arrested for public order violations. Another man was arrested before the game for possession of an offensive weapon.”

How the problems at The Hawthorns developed

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It was the first game between West Brom and Wolves to be played in front of fans since 2012

Before the game was interrupted, the tension was growing. Supporters of Premier League club Wolves lit flares after Pedro Neto's first-half opener and then a beer bottle was thrown at the visitors' Tommy Doyle as he took a corner after the break.

After Matheus Cunha doubled Wolves' lead, more rockets were thrown at the Smethwick Road end as problems also arose at the opposite end of the pitch.

The players remained on the pitch for a few minutes, some from West Brom going into the stands to get their children out, before referee Thomas Bramall finally led them back to their dressing rooms.

“A lot of players were worried because their families were sitting there,” said Baggies captain Jed Wallace. “They were worried about their children, so you could see some of them running over. Nobody wants to see that in football.”

West Brom coach Carlos Corberan later confirmed that none of his players' family members were injured.

A fan was escorted from a home area with blood running down his face while medical staff attempted to heal a wound on his head, while another fan was taken from the stadium on a stretcher despite appearing to be fine.

Fans were told to return to their seats on multiple occasions and Corberan, along with Wolves manager Gary O'Neil, discussed the situation with stadium officials and police representatives before the teams returned.

There were no further goals as Wolves secured a place in the fifth round, where they will host fellow Premier League side Brighton. The draw was delayed until half-time in Liverpool's home game against Norwich due to overflow in the game at The Hawthorns.

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Before play was stopped, a beer bottle was thrown at Wolves player Tommy Doyle

Reaction to West Brom Wolves' crowd problems

West Brom manager Corberan told ITV he was “completely disappointed” by the disruption.

“Unfortunately the game was interrupted by this incident and now we can’t talk about the atmosphere our fans created, we can’t talk about that aspect,” he said.

“Everything before the incident was unbelievable, it was something very special between both clubs. We must avoid such incidents.”

Wolves boss O'Neil agreed it was “a good draw with a good atmosphere” before his side doubled their lead.

“It's really important how people behave in football and we need to look at that and make sure everyone is safe,” O'Neil told ITV.

“When we came back the atmosphere was gone, it was really sad to see.”

He later added: “Obviously it’s really disappointing. Anyone who wants to come to a football game should feel safe.”

“Small children or elderly people could be in this area and we should not have to discuss incidents like this.

“This shouldn’t happen and I hope everyone is safe and there are no serious injuries and no lasting effects.”

O'Neil added that his players were happy to get back out to finish the game after being assured by police and security officials that it was safe to do so.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been to a game that was abandoned because of crowd issues, so it was a new one,” he said.

“Hopefully I never have to get involved in something like this again.”