Arsenal and Birmingham could avoid any FA punishment for pitch invasions that shamed football

The Football Association has launched investigations into the crowd trouble which tainted the English game on Sunday.

Birmingham fan Paul Mitchell jumped on to the pitch to punch Aston Villa star Jack Grealish during the Midlands derby.

Then hours later Gunners supporter Gary Cooper burst on to the field at the Emirates to accost Manchester United defender Chris Smalling during the Premier League clash.

Gary Neville has led the calls for drastic measures to be taken to prevent any more assaults – claiming Birmingham should be given a ten-game stadium ban as punishment.

The FA yesterday issued a strongly-worded statement insisting a "line has been crossed" by the actions of the mindless idiots which threatened the safety of the players.

They have already contacted both clubs to demand answers as to what went wrong to allow supporters to get so close to the stars during the games.

But despite the widespread condemnation of the incidents on Sunday, under the FA's own regulations there is the possibility no punishment could be dished out.

That is because in issues of crowd trouble like this, there is an acceptance that clubs cannot be held accountable for individual actions of the public if they have taken adequate steps to prevent trouble happening.

In asking the Gunners and Birmingham for their responses, they will demand to see evidence that the clubs took all reasonable steps possible to control the crowd and provide safety for the players and supporters.

Arsenal have been asked to show they had the correct stewarding and security measures in place, covering access areas to the pitch, and clearly display messages warning of ramifications for running on to the grass.

Birmingham will have to provide evidence of the same, with the FA taking a particular interest in whether there was enough crowd control in place for such a volatile fixture.

In such high profile cases the authorities are aware they well need to scrutinise every single statement given by the two sides.

But if both clubs can display they did everything within their power to prevent the trouble, then the FA are will be pretty much unable to press any charges – despite the obvious desire around the game to take action to ward off the threat of any repeat.

Three times this season, Arsenal have seen fans throw objects on to the pitch at the Emirates and on each occasion they have avoided any action because they showed everything in their power had been done to control the crowd.

The Premier League club showed there was proper signage warning of penalties for committing offences, had stewarding levels at the right number for the matches and punished the culprits where necessary.

With Mitchell being sentenced to 14 weeks in prison and Birmingham banning him for life from St Andrew's, punitive action has already been seen to have been taken.

Likewise, the Gunners have maintained a zero tolerance approach to trouble-makers, with 30-year-old Cooper also facing a life ban from the Emirates having been charged with assault.

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