West Brom have been fined £30,000 and given a warning over the crowd trouble which marred their FA Cup fixture against local rivals Wolves in January.
A Wolves fan celebrating a goal while in a home section of the Hawthorns sparked the worst of the disorder in the 79th minute, forcing the game to be suspended for 38 minutes.
West Brom admitted two Football Association charges concerning the behaviour of their supporters and the throwing of missiles towards the pitch.
An independent regulatory commission gave the club credit for that early plea and for making “genuine and concerted” efforts to comply with FA rules on crowd conduct.
However, the panel felt they “fell short” in a number of areas which were “significant and serious”.
The panel highlighted deficiencies around the club’s planning and preparation to deal with attempts to smuggle pyrotechnics into the stadium, incidents of spontaneous and/or organised crowd disorder and the presence of away fans in some home areas of the stadium.
West Brom managing director Mark Miles said: “While the written reasons state the club did a very considerable number of things right and plainly took its responsibilities seriously, it is clear there were also areas in which we fell short, and it is imperative we continue to focus on these aspects as we strive for improvement.”
“Since the fixture, the club has met with the Sports Ground Safety Authority, acting on its recommendations to improve internal procedures which will help to prevent similar issues arising in the future.”
“The behaviour we witnessed that day is totally unacceptable, and the club has since banned or suspended in excess of 40 supporters who were involved in the incident. West Midlands Police is also continuing its own criminal investigations into individual fan behaviour.”
“I am confident we will continue to make the improvements necessary to ensure The Hawthorns never again witnesses scenes of this nature
