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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Mark Donlon

Gardai intervene as Shelbourne fans throw flares onto pitch during FAI Cup final

Gardaí were forced to intervene at the FAI Cup final as Shelbourne fans threw flares onto the pitch while the game was ongoing.

Shelbourne fell to a 4-0 final defeat against a Derry City side who were much the better side on the day.

Jamie McGonigle opened the scoring for Derry after 18 minutes before two strikes from Cameron McJannett either side of half-time firmed up Derry's grasp on the trophy.

READ MORE: Ugly scenes as football supporters are seen involved in brawl ahead of FAI Cup final in Dublin

It got worse late on as a penalty dispatched by Jordan McEneff added to Shels' woes.

But with the game rambling along at 3-0, problems emerged off the field as Shelbourne fans could be seen throwing flares onto the pitch and in the direction of Brian Maher in the Derry City goal.

One of the flares almost hit the Derry stopper and a littering of projectiles then had to be removed from the pitch.

And there was further trouble in the stands as some among the Shels support became unruly and had to be apprehended by Gardaí before being removed from the stadium.

Members of An Garda Síochana could be seen closing in on a particular pocket in the Shelbourne end as the drama threatened to boil over.

Thankfully, the incident was dealt with swiftly and play could continue.

It marked the second flash point of the day after groups of Derry and Shelbourne fans had clashed before the game.

Videos circulating on social media displayed fans of both clubs on opposite sides of the road throwing flares and objects at each other.

One flare in particular connected with a Garda van which was driving down the road between the two sets of fans.

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