Steve Bruce has slammed as ‘ridiculous’ Birmingham’s decision to hand out thousands of clappers to fans that were then used as missiles to attack Aston Villa players.
Birmingham supporters repeatedly threw them at Villa players, prompting others to use plastic bottles and even coins, with Ahmed Elmohamady one of two hit.
Elmohamady is understood to have handed a coin to a steward and Birmingham now face the prospect of an FA charge for failing to control fans. There were also reports of a linesman being struck.
Birmingham placed a cardboard clapper on each seat in a bid to encourage an atmosphere in a game that typically reaches fever pitch anyway.