Rugby thugs to get LIFE BANS after fan violence put children in danger during savage brawl

A vicious fight erupted yesterday when Salford players clashed with their own fans

THE owner of Salford Red Devils said he will ban for life those involved in ugly scenes which endangered young families in a shocking brawl at the weekend.

A vicious fight erupted yesterday when Salford players clashed with their own fans at the end of a game.
Salford beat the Huddersfield Giants 26-24 in a high-profile victory.

Violence broke out with children and women being crushed in the melee

However, as players went to applaud their fans at the end of the game, violence broke out with children and women being crushed in the melee.
The players jumped into the crowd to save their families, leading to scuffles with their own fans.
Today, the owner of the Red Devils later called the violent fans "thugs" and promised to hand out life bans to any found to be involved.

Marwan Koukash promised the strongest possible action against anyone found to have caused trouble.
He said: "We have asked for the CCTV from Huddersfield. The minority who caused the trouble, who I called thugs, will not be associated with our club or the sport.
"We will make sure they never attend a rugby league game again.”
He previously tweeted: "We’d like to apologise for the behaviour of some of our fans today.
"We’ll be working to find those involved. We do not condone any behaviour of the sort."

Photographs from the fight show the wing Justin Carney and the centre Junior S’au involved in heated exchanges with fans.
One image revealed Mr S'au trying to physically restrain fans on the ground.
Mr Koukash defended the actions of his two players and added that the daughter of a member of the club’s coaching staff had to be checked over in hospital after the fracas.
He said: “You go towards your fans at the end of the game to acknowledge their support and when you see your family are there and need your help, regardless of whether you’re a policeman or a player, the human instinct is to jump in and help them out.
“That’s the only reason the two players, Junior and Justin, jumped in, to help their kids and their wives.
"One of the kids ended up going to hospital, the daughter of our strength and conditioning coach. It’s not ideal for them to jump in but what else do you expect?”

The players jumped into the crowd to save their families

One injured steward also had to be treated by St John Ambulance personnel at the scene following the violence.
Salford head coach Ian Watson confirmed that players had gone into the crowd to protect family members.
Mr Watson said: “The fans involved should be made accountable. This is a family game. They are not the type of fans we want.”
The chief executive of the Rugby Football League, Nigel Wood, promised an in-depth investigation.
He said: “We will conduct a full investigation into the events that took place in the away section of the crowd at the game between Huddersfield and Salford.
“We do not condone violence of any kind and will ensure that anyone found to have acted improperly is dealt with accordingly.”

One rugby fan Lesley Kaneen described how the players had rushed to the aid of their families.
She said: "There were a bunch of mindless idiots in the crowd who have nothing at all to do with Salford and they were out to cause trouble from the start.
"It's a tradition for the players to come over to the fans at the end of the game after they've won and to the credit of the families of the players, they actually sit with all the fans.
"But they were being pushed and shoved by these thugs and the players, rightly in my mind, jumped in to defend them.
"There were young children crying their eyes out, frightened to death - it was just horrible."

She added: "I can honestly say I've never seen anything like it at a rugby game before, and nor has my dad who has been going for 50-odd years."
Another fan, Liam Darby, said: "Didn’t recognise faces but they dressed like at the football i.e. no Salford colours. Get them banned anyway."
Nicola and Paul Jones added: "It’s just giving the RFL more reason to deduct points off us and get us out of Super League. Mindless idiots. It’s a family sport."
Tony Townsend, treasurer of the Huddersfield Giants Supporters Association, said: "I saw one steward getting an absolute pasting; it was horrific to see.
"It's just so disappointing because I've never seen anything like this before at a rugby match and it is very damaging to the sport's reputation. The scenes were really ugly