GTFC Reported For Coin Throwing Incidents

By: Bill Osborne
Date: 14/02/2002

THE Grimsby Telegraph reported today that Town have been reported to the FA after a coin was thrown at referee Michael Ryan during the defeat by Bradford at Blundell Park 10 days ago. In the first incident for years at Town, 2 bottles and several coins were thrown onto the pitch from the Pontoon.

The referee Ryan was pelted with a coin by a fan in the Lower Smiths just after he had shown a red card striker Robert Taylor. A fan was later arrested by police in connection with the incident.

Terry Rudrum, Town's safety officer has warned that anyone found guilty could be banned from English football grounds for three years.

"One of the coins just missed the referee and that is why he included it in his report. There were three incidents reported and it's the first one of this magnitude in years. There has been the odd incident, but nothing that's been reported before. We will be increasing surveillance this weekend, and we're calling on the support of our loyal fans to ensure this doesn't happen again." END

Billo says: This could cause the club to be fined and throwing missiles such as coins can cause serious injury and cannot be condoned.

But it does highlight the effect of bad refereeing in the game with more than a few clubs involved in this type of behaviour recently.

Despite the decrease in violence that was prevalent 10 years ago, there are still a few hotheads about and the FA should realise that referees can cause a riot if they do not control the game effectively.

The FA fine players heavily for setting a bad example on the pitch and for actions that can lead to trouble with the fans. Maybe they should also look at just how many incidents are sparked off by poor refereeing and address that problem too.

That does not excuse people from taking part in this type of off field violence because that is what it is - violence. There are other ways of showing disgust at officials. Singing really hurts them!!

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