Bohemians have announced their intention to ban anyone who was involved in the pre-match violence ahead of Sunday’s FAI Cup final between themselves and Dublin rivals St Pat’s.
Glass bottles and flares were thrown at St Patrick’s Athletic fans ahead of the game at the Aviva Stadium in the Irishtown area on Sunday.
It’s believed the majority of the violence was not carried out by Bohes fans but by a group who had travelled from the UK, according to the Irish Times.
Gardaí are investigating but no arrests have been made. The cloub have released a statement in the wake of the trouble:
”37,126 attended Sunday’s game in what was a record-breaking attendance for an FAI Cup final at the Aviva Stadium, and the highest attendance for any FAI Cup final since 1968. This represents a remarkable step forward for Irish football.
Bohemians had a crowd of circa 18,000 behind our team. This was an unprecedented figure for our club, and both sets of supporters contributed to one of the most electric atmospheres seen at any domestic fixture.
It is therefore all the more deeply regrettable that the deplorable actions of a tiny minority before the game would take away from that, and tarnish such an occasion between two clubs who have had such an excellent relationship for many years.
We condemn the behaviour of this minority unconditionally. Such behaviour has no place in our club.
Gardaí are investigating and we will be banning anyone identifiable in footage of the incident.
As a 100% fan-owned club, our volunteers have worked tirelessly to be a force of good in our communities on many fronts.
We want to assure our members and supporters that we will not allow the actions of this minority detract from that continued aim.”
