West Brom vs Wolves crowd violence: what caused the bloodied FA Cup scene?

Soccer is one of the most beautiful sports on the planet and brings players and fans together. But it has a tendency to turn ugly often, with many disastrous events happening in history. One such incident happened between West Brom and Wolverhampton Wolves in the FA Cup game yesterday.

The FA Cup is one of the most prestigious competitions in English soccer and often sees teams from the lower divisions facing off against the Premier League heavyweights. It also sees many rivalries occur, which turn ugly often.

What caused the crowd violence in West Brom vs. Wolves FA Cup game?

Yesterday, a FA Cup game was played between West Brom and Wolverhampton Wolves. It was the first Black Country derby in the FA Cup in 17 years, a historic rivalry between fans of the two clubs. There was much hype and excitement, but also some heated arguments between the two sets of fans who hate each other intensely.

The Wolves were leading the game 2-0, but some trouble occurred in the 78th minute. It was in the Halfords Lane Stand of the West Brom home stadium, named The Hawthorns. The stand was filled with West Brom fans there, who were agitated at watching their team lose to their rivals.

However, when the second goal was scored by Matheus Cunha in the 78th minute, it became apparent that some Wolves fans were in the same stand disguised. They were celebrating the goal, which added salt to the injury of the West Brom fans. This led to violent fighting in the stands, which soon spilled onto the pitch. The game was immediately suspended, and the players had to be rushed into the tunnels. A fan was seen leaving the pitch with blood on his whole face, while the home crowd shamelessly chanted, ‘Let him die’. Another was seen leaving on a stretcher, while a ball boy was also injured on the head.

After a break of 35 minutes, the game was finished with a 2-0 win for the Wolves. It was after the riot that police were deployed alongside stewards to control the violent crowd. Some West Brom players were seen rushing to the stands as their family members were there. While Wolves won at West Brom’s home for the first time in 28 years, the bloody events marred it.

Aftermath of the horrific scenes at West Brom’s home ground

And now the FA, the governing body of the tournament and the English soccer pyramid, has opened an official investigation. Already, the police have made six arrests, with more to come if video footage is properly investigated.

West Brom have already promised to ban all the fans responsible for creating the disorder. A statement from the club also promised to help the police in their investigations: “Any individual involved in the ­disorder will be subject to a club ban, in addition to potential criminal investigation.”

The FA will also look into the situation and possibly sanction West Brom for their fans’ actions. Anything from a fine to a stadium closure is entirely possible, but will only be possible after the investigation is concluded. With the FA recently having punished Everton, it seems a punishment could be very likely.

For now, both clubs will be looking forward to their next games and trying to put this horrible incident behind them.