The FA Cup match between West Brom and Wolves is postponed due to severe pandemonium in the crowd.
In the first Black Country derby played in front of fans in 12 years, Wolverhampton Wanderers led 2-0 at the Hawthorns thanks to goals from Pedro Neto and Matheus Cunha. However, issues with the crowd started to arise in several areas.
Wolverhampton Wanderers’ FA Cup fourth round victory against West Bromwich Albion was overshadowed by terrible crowd unrest, resulting in a 30-minute suspension and turmoil in the Black Country rivalry.
Thanks to goals from Pedro Neto in the first half and Matheus Cunha in the 78th minute, Premier League Wolves defeated their local rivals and won at the Hawthorns for the first time in 28 years.
However, the first meeting between the two rivals in front of fans in 12 years ended in bitter disappointment as chaos—dubbed “completely unacceptable” by the FA—erupted after a superb finish by Cunha. Rockets were launched into and out of the visitors’ section at the Smethwick End as Wolves supporters celebrated the Brazilian’s goal in the away end.
After Wolves supporters were found in several locations, trouble then started to spread throughout the home end. As expected, fighting broke out in some areas of the ground, both between fans and between supporters and police.
The moment problems broke out, West Brom players hurried across to the intersection of Halfords Lane Stand and Birmingham Road End.
It is believed that during games, the families of home players stay in that section of the stadium. Kyle Bartley, a defender, is known to rush into the stand and take his little children out onto the field and to safety.
“A lot of the players were distressed because that’s where their families sit,” said Albion captain Jed Wallace following the game. Some of them were seen hurrying over because they were concerned about their kids.”
