FA to probe Ivanovic lighter incident

Branislav Ivanovic

London: The Football Association are to contact both Queens Park Rangers and Chelsea after Branislav Ivanovic was hit on the head by a cigarette lighter thrown from among the home fans at Loftus Road on Sunday. Chelsea's Ivanovic was hit as the visitors celebrated Cesc Fabregas's 88th-minute winner for the Premier League leaders in a 1-0 victory.


Branislav Ivanovic

Reports in the British press suggest QPR are unlikely to face disciplinary action such as a points penalty given the difficulty of preventing such an incident but the FA are keen to see the culprit identified and given a banning order.

Sunday's west London derby defeat meant QPR remained in the relegation zone but the club were adamant the circumstances of the match were no excuse for crowd misbehaviour that saw coins and a plastic bottle also thrown in the direction of Chelsea players. "Whilst we understand that passions run high during derby fixtures, this is not the kind of behaviour the club condones in any way, shape or form," a QPR spokesman said.

"We take a zero tolerance approach to this sort of behaviour and, if the perpetrators are identified, they will be banned indefinitely from the stadium and, where appropriate, we will liaise with the Metropolitan Police. "The club are awaiting communication from the FA following the referee's report and will work closely with them in ensuring something like this does not happen again.

"We would also appeal to fans with any information regarding yesterday's incident to contact the club, as we feel it's important to identify the perpetrators as soon as possible, as we believe they are not a true representation of the QPR fan-base."