Five Dunfermline Athletic fans have been handed banning orders following serious disorder at last Saturday’s home derby fixture with Falkirk.
Coins and other objects were hurled on to the field of play from the North West and Norrie McCathie Stands at East End Park, while there were also reports of fans displaying “overly aggressive” behaviour and failing to adhere to ground regulations or the instructions of stewards and police.
A female volunteer was also spat on by a Pars supporter in the tunnel area after the bad-tempered match, which ended 2-1 to the visitors.
Dunfermline Athletic officials have confirmed they met with Police Scotland on Tuesday to review events in all four stands on Saturday, and the match commander was said to be “reassured by the swift actions” the club intends to take.
Police investigations into reports of anti-social behaviour are said to be continuing and further arrests or subsequent action has not been ruled out.
Chairman Ross McArthur has also roundly condemned the small minority for sullying the club’s name, describing some of the actions witnessed on Saturday as “totally irresponsible” and “highly dangerous”.
“Football is a passionate game, and emotions can run high – particularly taking into account the exceptional circumstances at the weekend – but there can be absolutely no excuse for some of the actions that took place, such as throwing any form of missile or overly aggressive behaviour,” he said.
“These actions will not be tolerated at East End Park. As highlighted previously, anyone who involves themselves in this type of behaviour will have serious consequences both for themselves and our club.”
The club added it had also been determined a season ticket holder provided his card to one of the offenders to gain entry to the stadium, who was subsequently arrested.
Mr McArthur said that if the type of unacceptable conduct seen on Saturday continues at future home matches then there could well be fewer police-free games, which could prove costly financially for the Fife outfit.
The chairman also thanked a section of supporters sitting in the North West Stand near the centre circle who pointed out an individual who had thrown a coin to authorities.
“Credit where credit is due, as it is important to acknowledge that it is only a minority of fans who believe they can misbehave or push the boundaries with our stewards or the police,” Mr McArthur continued.
A review of allocated seating and ground regulations is set to be carried out in the next couple of weeks, with a ‘safe singing’ section one of the options being looked at.
“As a club, we are trying to do our best for everyone in a difficult situation, but at the same time we have to take our responsibilities very seriously,” he concluded.
“We need all supporters to help us root out the minority who appear to want to deliberately cause damage to our club’s good name.”
The strongly-word statement from the Pars comes just three months after the club was forced to issue a strong statement criticising a minority of supporters for their conduct.
