Owner will throw life ban at fans involved in league brawl

Trouble flairs up during the Super League match between Huddersfield and the Salford Red Devils. Photo / Graham Crowther - GAC photos

Marwan Koukash will ban for life anyone found to have been involved in the trouble that marred the end of his Salford side's win at Huddersfield on Monday.

Shortly after the Red Devils had beaten the Giants 26-24, photographs emerged on social media of some of Salford's players becoming embroiled in ugly scenes with some of their own supporters in the away end of the ground.

Pictures on Twitter showed winger Justin Carney and New Zealand-born centre Junior S'au involved in heated exchanges, with one particular photo showing S'au appearing to restrain a fan on the ground.

Press Association Sport was told the two players in particular were concerned for the welfare of their families who were sitting close to where an alleged incident of crowd trouble had taken place, and went into the stands to check on them, leading to further scenes of confrontation.

And Salford owner Koukash has promised the strongest possible action against anyone found to have caused trouble.

Speaking on talkSPORT he said: "We have asked for the CCTV from Huddersfield. The minority who caused the trouble, who I called thugs, will not be associated with our club or the sport. We will make sure they never attend a rugby league game again."

Koukash added that the daughter of a member of the club's coaching staff had to be checked over in hospital after the fracas, and defended the actions of Carney and S'au.

He added: "You go towards your fans at the end of the game to acknowledge their support and when you see your family are there and need your help, regardless of whether you're a policeman or a player, the human instinct is to jump in and help them out.

"That's the only reason the two players, Junior and Justin, jumped in, to help their kids and their wives. One of the kids ended up going to hospital, the daughter of our strength and conditioning coach. It's not ideal for them to jump in but what else do you expect?"

While Salford are to investigate the matter, the Rugby Football League is to also look into it.

Commenting on Monday night, RFL chief executive Nigel Wood said: "We will conduct a full investigation into the events that took place in the away section of the crowd at the game between Huddersfield and Salford.

"We do not condone violence of any kind and will ensure that anyone found to have acted improperly is dealt with accordingly."

West Yorkshire Police offered no comment, while Huddersfield were also contacted.

- Daily Mail