Aston Villa have pledged to ban for life all the supporters who invaded the pitch during last night's stormy West Midlands derby clash with Birmingham.
The disturbances occurred during Villa's 2-0 defeat to their bitter rivals and one fan confronted Birmingham's Robbie Savage and Villa goalkeeper Peter Enckelman before being escorted from the field.
A statement from Villa tonight read: "Aston Villa will ban for life any supporters who ran onto the playing area during last night's Premiership fixture with Birmingham City at Villa Park.
"Any supporters arrested for encroachment onto the field of play will receive automatic bans while the club will also be working closely with West Mercia Police to identify other supporters involved in crowd disturbances in and around the stadium.
"Security for the fixture had been heightened inside and outside Villa Park and both the club and the police were satisfied that the extra measures adopted ensured several threats to public order and safety inside the stadium were minimised.
"In total, 100 extra stewards were employed inside the ground while the number of police officers in the area was significantly increased for the fixture.
"Throughout the build-up to the match the club, police and other agencies worked closely to ensure that strict guidelines for the purchase of match tickets meant that tickets for 'home' areas of the ground were sold only to Aston Villa supporters with a registered history of purchases for Aston Villa fixtures. Investigations have now begun to determine how tickets registered to Aston Villa supporters were ultimately utilised by visiting fans.
"In addition to the on-going investigations conducted by Aston Villa, the club will, of course, co-operate fully with any Football Association inquiry."
West Mercia Police have yet to decide whether they will bring any charge against Villa striker Dion Dublin for the headbutt on Savage for which he was sent off.