The Football Association have confirmed they are investigating reports of crowd disturbances at the League Cup tie between Barnsley and Manchester United at Oakwell last night.

The governing body say that following a series of reported incidents they are now awaiting the reports of an FA crowd control advisor, present at the game, as well as from referee Chris Foy.

The FA are also liaising with both clubs and local police to gather evidence relating to events at the ground.

According to police, eight fans were arrested at the match after trouble flared at around 8.30pm.

Eight catering staff were trapped inside a food kiosk and had to barricade themselves in a store room for around 25 minutes as fans broke in and stole cash from the till and food from the shelves.

Stewards on the pitch also had food thrown at them during the violence, marring United’s 2-0 fourth-round win.

An FA spokesperson said: “There is no place for anti-social or violent behaviour in our game. Any culprit found to be involved in these disturbances and identified as such by either the police or clubs should be subject to a lengthy ban from attending football matches.”

Barnsley are launching an investigation into the violence, accusing Manchester United fans of causing “substantial damage” at the stadium.

The club has complained to police, who are to carry out their own inquiry into the incident.