Football club closes stand for one match after smoke bomb incident

Inverness Caley Thistle say the West Stand will be closed for Saturday's home league game.

Caledonian Stadium, Inverness.
The West Stand at the Caledonian stadium in Inverness will be closed on Saturday. [BBC]

A stand will be closed for Inverness Caledonian Thistle's home match against Peterhead on Saturday, after two smoke bombs were thrown on to the pitch earlier this month.

The game with Hamilton on 13 December was paused by the referee when the "highly dangerous" pyrotechnics were launched from the West terrace at the Caledonian Stadium.

A spokesperson for the Highland club said the closure of the West stand this Saturday demonstrated a "zero-tolerance" approach to the use of pyrotechnics within the stadium.

It will reopen for the next home game against Alloa Athletic on 24 January.

Police Scotland has issued an appeal to trace those responsible for throwing the pyrotechnic.

"Taking pyrotechnics into a sporting stadium is a criminal offence and highly dangerous," the force said.

The Scottish government is consulting on whether to extend powers to ban football fans from games for offences like using pyrotechnics and online abuse.

Category: General Sports