West Brom facing FA punishment following Black Country Derby violence

Five supporters were arrested inside The Hawthorns, another was taken to hospital with head injuries while one player went into the stands to rescue family members amid some of the worst disorder witnessed in a West Midlands football ground for several decades.

The FA has launched an investigation, while the Baggies have vowed to ban any supporter found to have taken part in the trouble which marred their first meeting with rivals Wolves with fans present for more than a decade.

Possible sanctions include a fine, or even the possibility of a partial or full stadium closure for future matches.

In a statement, Albion condemned the “unsavoury scenes” in the “strongest terms”.

The club are looking into precisely what sparked the trouble which halted the match for around 35 minutes shortly after Matheus Cunha had put Wolves 2-0 up late in the second half.

Police battled with home supporters in two corners of the ground, including an area where many of the Albion players’ families were housed.

Baggies defender Kyle Bartley was seen leaving the pitch with his children having gone into the crowd to rescue them.

The atmosphere for the first meeting between the clubs with supporters present since 2012 had been heated from the moment the match got underway at 11.45am.

With Wolves leading through Pedro Neto’s first half opener, a number of missiles were thrown onto the pitch from home areas shortly prior to the stoppage, one understood to have struck a ballboy and another narrowly missing visiting midfielder Tommy Doyle.

When Cunha then doubled Wolves’ lead with 12 minutes remaining, trouble flared in the Halfords Lane Stand, close to the Birmingham Road End and in the East Stand, near to the Smethwick End where nearly 4,000 visiting supporters were housed.

One supporter, bleeding heavily from a head wound, was led off the pitch by paramedics while another was wheeled away on a stretcher. Amid the drama, an Albion supporter made his way onto the pitch and held up his scarf in front of the Wolves fans.

Both teams and the match officials left the pitch as the police tried to re-establish control, eventually returning to complete the final 12 minutes of the match after paramedics had finished treating injured supporters.

The win was Wolves’ first at The Hawthorns since 1996 but their head coach, Gary O’Neil, acknowledged it had been overshadowed by the off-field trouble.

Both he and Albion counterpart Carlos Corberan condemned the violence.

A West Midlands Police statement read: “We’ve had extra officers at this local derby and they responded immediately as disorder in the stands caused fans to spill onto the pitch.

“Five people have now been arrested for public order offences inside the ground. We worked with officials to get the game restarted as soon as possible.

“Another man was arrested before the game for possession of an offensive weapon. A man has been taken to hospital with head injuries.”