Growing concerns for safety after trouble at Black Country derby

There are growing calls for more to be done to improve safety at football matches after violence flared crowd at the FA cup tie between local rivals West Brom and Wolves.

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

Missiles were thrown, fights broke out, fans spilled on to the pitch and police said six people were arrested in connection with the game.

Officers have vowed that further arrests will follow after the "unacceptable violence"

Rishi Sunak believes that hooligans responsible for the "extremely concerning" scenes at the West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers match should face criminal charges.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "Those scenes are extremely concerning, there's no place for that kind of behaviour in football, the Prime Minister believes that everyone should be able to watch their team without any threat of violence or antisocial behaviour.

"He firmly expects anyone involved to face criminal charges and to be banned from future games.

"It's right to thank the police for their bravery in keeping people safe. I believe a number of officers were injured and obviously that's not tolerable."

The Professional Footballers' Association says a lack of safety at matches is a "growing concern" to players across the country.

Violence between supporters of West Brom and Wolves overshadowed their FA Cup fourth round tie at The Hawthorns.

The PFA says players should be able to do their job "without worrying about the safety of their families".

Fans have also been speaking out. We spoke to Paul - who supports the Villa and knows that local derbys are part of the fixtures. He told us that he'd like to take his Dad - who's a pensioner - and his seven-year-old son to a game, but fears he wouldn't be able to keep them both safe - if there was any trouble at games in the future.

A statement issued by the FA concerning the disorder read: "We will be investigating these serious incidents alongside the clubs and the relevant authorities, and the appropriate action will be taken."

A statement from the home club said: "West Bromwich Albion Football Club condemns in the strongest terms the unsavoury scenes which disrupted Sunday's Black Country derby at The Hawthorns.

"Any individual involved in the disorder will be subject to a club ban, in addition to potential criminal investigation."

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