Rioting left damage at the St Andrew’s stadium The FA is investigating trouble which marred the end of Birmingham City’s Carling Cup quarter-final clash at home to local rivals Aston Villa as hundreds of fans invaded the pitch.
Home fans ripped and hurled seating and threw flares towards Villa fans.
The incident came on the eve of the vote to decide if England will host the 2018 World Cup.
Condemning the trouble, an FA spokesman called on the clubs to take action against offenders.
Birmingham manager Alex McLeish said it threatened to bring English football “back to the Dark Ages”.
But he said he did not think it would affect the World Cup vote.
He told Sky Sports 1: “I don’t think that will affect the World Cup bid, I’m sure that’s already decided, and let’s hope England gets it because it deserves it.
“It doesn’t look good though, when you see fans running on the pitch like that and carrying on. It takes us back to the Dark Ages.”
Birmingham won the game 2-1 and will face West Ham United in the semi-finals.
A West Midlands Police spokesman said: “Police and club stewards are working to bring an end to sporadic outbreaks of disorder at the Birmingham derby.”
A Football Association spokesman said: “We wholly condemn the actions of any individuals who have been involved in the scenes of disorder at St Andrew’s this evening.
“The FA abhors acts of violent behaviour and we urge the clubs and authorities to identify any individuals involved in disorder, and impose the stiffest available sanctions, including banning orders.
“The FA will fully investigate the matter in conjunction with the appropriate authorities.
“The whole of English football has worked hard to eradicate scenes of disorder from our game, with Home Office figures this week showing a significant drop in arrests at the many thousands of football matches held every week, the majority of which still pass trouble free.”
The last time Birmingham City and Aston Villa were allowed to play each other under floodlights was seven years ago.
Following clashes between supporters during the 2002-03 season, West Midlands police insisted all future derbies be played on a Sunday lunchtime.
The Carling Cup draw led to that rule being waived for this game.
McLeish ‘worried’ after fan invasion
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