St Johnstone fans have been warned to be on their best behaviour at tonight’s Europa League match after smoke bombs were set off and seats wrecked during the last European match at McDiarmid Park.
The team are looking to further their glorious run in the competition and will face a glamour tie against the likes of Tottenham Hotspur or Fiorentina if they win or draw.
A packed McDiarmid Park is expected as football fever reaches a scale not seen in the city for years.
Around 8,000 attended the Europa League second-round qualifying tie, and Saints are favourites to progress when they meet FC Minsk tonight, having won the first leg 1-0 in Belarus.
But the club could face UEFA sanctions or a substantial fine if there is further misconduct.
Having replaced 48 damaged seats at “great cost” after the match against Rosenborg, the Perth club condemned a small section of their support, describing their actions as “unacceptable”.
With that in mind, police are expected to be out in force to search some supporters and the club have warned fans not to put a foot wrong or St Johnstone could face possible sanctions by UEFA.
aul Smith, football administrator at St Johnstone, told The Courier that while he welcomes fans creating a “good atmosphere”, the club abhors anti-social behaviour.
“We had a group of fans at the Rosenborg game that created a good atmosphere but went about it in the wrong way,” he said.
“Smoke bombs were let off and 48 seats were damaged, which the club has replaced at great cost.
“The club was disappointed that despite warnings put out through the club website of the need not to bring flares or pyrotechnics, some fans brought them.
“That is unacceptable, particularly as Uefa have a delegate at these games and we were fortunate we weren’t reported for this.”
Inspector Ian Scott said: “There were around 8,000 at the Rosenborg game and we understand Minsk will bring about 100 fans, so this will bring us a few issues regarding congestion as this is one of the biggest crowds we will have seen in Perth in recent years.”