A FOOTBALL club’s board has said it will ban supporters involved in anti-social behaviour following unruly scenes at a match yesterday (Saturday, August 27.) 

Banbury United won 3-1 at home to Hereford, to continue their unbeaten start to the season in Vanarama National League North.

However, the game was marred by incidents which saw one person injured and another arrested.

The Puritan’s board of directors released a statement, condemning fans after bottles and a traffic cone were reportedly thrown.

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The statement read: “We liaised closely with Thames Valley Police before yesterday’s game against Hereford and had a full stewarding team on duty. In consultation with the force, the match was segregated.

“We will of course review and update our procedures for such games in light of incidents yesterday.

“We have had a fantastic start to the season on the pitch with great support off it. However, the behaviour of a very small minority of supporters yesterday was unacceptable.

“During the game, two smoke bombs were let off in the Town End occupied by Banbury supporters. As stressed in our messaging, this is criminal behaviour. The club will face repercussions for this.

“We will not hesitate to issue banning orders for supporters who are found to be involved in anti-social behaviour. As members of Cherwell Pubwatch Banbury, any bans will include other member premises in the town.

“We will review the day with the police to see what further steps we need to take.

“We are a community club, we want to be able to welcome everyone to our ground. We know fans are passionate but there is a clear line between behaviour that is acceptable and the incidents above that were not.

“We are sure supporters will get behind the team tomorrow in a positive way at Leamington and want the day to be about what happens on the pitch, not off it.”

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Yesterday, Thames Valley Police posted in a statement that the force dealt with disorder ‘before, during and after’ the game against Hereford.

The statement read: “It was reported that items, including bottles and a traffic cone, were thrown. One person was injured.

“In order to avoid any further disorder, the force decided to keep some Banbury supporters in the ground for approximately 10 minutes after the game to allow the Hereford fans to leave the area.

“One person was arrested for a public order offence.”

Police officers are asking that anyone with relevant footage to contact the force via its website, or to call 101, quoting reference number 943 (27/8).

Andy Whing’s Banbury side have won four out of five games so far this season in National League North, following a historic promotion in the last campaign.

The club is playing at the highest level in its history this season.

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This story was written by Liam Rice, he joined the team in 2019 as a multimedia reporter.

Liam covers politics, travel and transport. He occasionally covers Oxford United.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Liam.rice@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter @OxMailLiamRice