Fans found guilty of setting flares and smoke bombs off during the Community Shield are set to face a 12 month ban from attending matches.
The Football Association have confirmed they are in the process of investigating and working with Liverpool to identify the culprits who let off several red smoke bombs amid celebrations as Jurgen Klopp’s side beat Manchester City at Leicester City's King Power Stadium on Saturday.
The news comes less than a week after the FA, Premier League and EFL issued a joint statement with a pledge to crack down hard on hooliganism in the new season.
One of the key elements was the use of fireworks and pyrotechnics which have become a regular and unwanted feature of games together with a pledge for bans and prosecution for fans who invade the pitch together with stronger action on hooliganism and drug use.
Liverpool, along with all the 20 Premier League clubs, signed up to the new pledge and the club did issue warnings to fans about behaviour ahead of the Community Shield, including specifically smoke bombs and pyros. The FA cannot take action against fans - they were able to take action against Richarlison as a player after the former Everton striker picked up a smoke bomb - and it is down to Liverpool and the police.
But they need to identify individuals and the FA plus the Premier League and EFL will rely on the clubs to help, push the message and also clamp down by tracing tickets and using CCTV to identify culprits. The FA issued a statement which said: “We are aware of incidents during the FA Community Shield where flares were used in the stands.
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"The use of smoke bombs or pyrotechnics in a football stadium is dangerous, illegal, and could have severe consequences. We can confirm that we are investigating the matter and will be working with the relevant authorities, the clubs and the police to identify the individuals involved and we will take appropriate action.
"This season, The FA, Premier League and EFL announced new measures and stronger sanctions to tackle anti-social and criminal behaviour in football grounds. Premier League and EFL clubs have agreed that if their fans are identified using flares in the stadium then those individuals would receive a club ban. We expect the club to also investigate these incidents and to implement the new rules where applicable.”
