Middlesbrough secured their Play Off spot last weekend with a convincing win at home to Millwall. But celebrations spilled over onto the pitch at the final whistle.
After Middlesbrough had guaranteed a top six finish after the game against Millwall, hundreds of supporters went onto the pitch to celebrate getting into the Play Offs.
It was reported that the FA were looking into this, and had contacted both Middlesbrough and Millwall regarding the incident as early as the following day.
Middlesbrough Football Club have now released a statement.
It reads:
‘Due to the behaviour of this small number of fans, the Football Association have asked the club to provide a detailed report on the incident and how we intend to prevent a recurrence. We are now faced with the costly measure of installing additional barriers which is not only an unplanned expense, but will undoubtedly restrict the free movement of the majority of fans who respect the stadium regulations.
We are awaiting the response of the FA before establishing the full range of measures that we will have to implement but it is clear that any repeat of the incident at the Millwall game could have serious consequences.
We are requesting the cooperation and assistance of all genuine Boro supporters to prevent the type of behaviour that can damage the club’s reputation.’
Presumably, the FA will still be looking into the incident and have not reached a decision as yet. It is also unclear whether the club will face fines, or will ban any person who invaded the pitch at full time.
