As a club, it presents an image that no-one wants and when fans act up and act in an unruly manner, the club is expected to act and seek to ban those fans – which is the precise action English Super League side, the Castleford Tigers, have taken.
The incident in question involving Richie Mathers occurred last Friday, when some Castleford fans chose to throw a bottle and a cup of coffee at former Tiger Richie Mathers, who now plays for rivals Wakefield in the competition – forcing the club’s hand to take action against the fans.
With no conclusion to come from the incident at this stage, the club have said that they are investigating and have ensured that anyone found guilty of throwing objects at oppositon players will be banned.
Steve Gill, the interim Chief Executive at Castleford, says that the club has a zero-tolerance policy on this matter and will work in conjunction with Police and the appropriate authorities to get to the bottom of it.
“We are taking a zero-tolerance approach to this kind of behaviour and obtaining evidence through CCTV footage and the assistance of stewards to identify the people involved and pass on to the authorities,” said Tigers interim chief executive Steve Gill.
“The club has a family reputation that it has held for many years and recognise that the vast majority of loyal fans are let down by the very small minority who act in a disrespectful manner on rare occasions.
“These individuals cannot be allowed to drag the club through the gutter.”