Southport dish out stadium bans following crowd trouble during Blackpool friendly

The pre-season encounter on July 2 was forced to be temporarily halted by the referee after a scuffle broke out in the corner of the ground.

Play at Haig Avenue was halted for around five minutes, while referee Ben Speedie warned the friendly would be abandoned altogether if any further incidents occurred.

The matter was reported to Merseyside Police, who are now investigating the incident.

Southport, meanwhile, issued a statement condemning the fan trouble - and have since issued another update.

“The club can confirm that it has today had cause to regrettably issue club/stadium bans to a number of individuals,” the National League North side said.

“Their behaviour has been considered in breach of the National League’s ground regulations.

“We will continue to assist Merseyside Police in their investigations into the incident.”

It came after a young group of Southport fans made their way around the ground to confront the Blackpool supporters in the away end during the first-half.

A handful of Blackpool fans breached the fences, causing the group to scarper back to the home end behind the goal.

Blackpool’s chief executive Ben Mansford and secretary Nick Horne left the main stand to make their way over to the corner of the pitch to calm down supporters.

After the cordon separating the fans was moved back to the halfway line, the game eventually restarted in the 36th minute, with Blackpool claiming a 2-0 win in Michael Appleton’s first game back as head coach.

Officers from Merseyside Police were called at 3.30pm, but there was no further disorder and fans left in an orderly manner. There were no reports of any injuries either.

Merseyside Police is now working with Southport to study CCTV of the incident as enquiries into the incident continue.

Chief Inspector Matthew Moscrop said: “Our message to the small minority of fans intent on carrying out disorder at any match is that such behaviour is unacceptable and will simply not be tolerated.

“We can and do identify those responsible for such incidents and can issue a range of sanctions, including banning orders.

“We will be working closely with both clubs to investigate this disturbance and I want to thank the vast majority of supporters who attended the game in good spirits.

“I would ask anyone who witnessed anything or anyone with information to come forward and we will take appropriate action.”

If you have any footage or information about this incident, direct message Merseyside Police Contact Centre on Twitter or Facebook ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’ with reference 22000466789.

You can also contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously, on 0800 555 111 or via their online form at: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information.