'It would be harsh to make an example of any club'

General manager David Graham says Linfield are prepared to ban "mindless idiots" who caused crowd trouble at Tuesday's defeat by Glentoran.

The Irish FA previously threatened heavy sanctions following supporter misconduct earlier in the season.

"I think it would be harsh to make an example of any club," said Graham.

He added: "Punishing an entire club, the first team and other supporters because of a handful of idiots - I think that is the wrong way to go."

Following a number of incidents in Tuesday's derby, which saw play stopped twice after Glentoran players Marcus Kane and Aaron McCarey appeared to be struck by objects thrown from the crowd, Linfield condemned "the actions of a small number of individuals".

On Wednesday, an IFA spokesperson said: "We are aware of the incidents and will work proactively with the relevant parties on next steps."

In November, Linfield were forced to close the Kop stand at Windsor Park for two months and were warned over future spectator misconduct by the Irish FA following the Blues' 3-0 defeat by Glentoran on 14 October.

• Linfield condemn missile throwing by fans during Glentoran defeat

Graham added that Linfield had yet to hear from the IFA about any charges or punishments and he did not want to pre-empt any sanctions.

"We are actively working with fans, we are meeting fans this week, we are meeting with representatives from community organisations, the police and the football authorities," he added.

"We are doing all that we can to prevent and mitigate these factors. We are not the only club that faces this at the minute.

"A cursory glance at social media suggests it is a challenge for clubs in the Irish League, it's a challenge for clubs in the mainland.

"I think banning orders have gone up by 300% since Covid. It's not a Linfield problem, but Linfield will do their bit to try and solve the problem as best we can.

"We can't do it on our own and we will continue to work with the IFA when we hear back from them.

"We had a disciplinary several weeks ago relating to supporter behaviour before Christmas. We walked out of the disciplinary as another club was walking in.

"I have yet to meet a club official in the country who does not want to do all they can to prevent this. I think the IFA acknowledge that privately and this has to be more carrot than stick."

Crowd trouble symptoms of social issues

Graham added that while the club are willing to ban supporters who have caused the trouble, he feels "education and empowerment" is important if Irish League football is to prevent further issues.

"The police have CCTV at the grounds. I don't think it is impossible to find the perpetrator, identify them and ban them from the grounds," he said.

"I think there has to be an education and empowerment, especially for younger supports because, ultimately, this is a symptom of social issues that are facing the country now.

"Not to shift the blame, but we don't have a working government, it's very difficult to set up a government-led scheme to solve this, because who would set it up.

"From our point of view, we are prepared to ban fans, but it is about trying to solve the problem and prevention is obviously the greatest cure in this situation."