Kilbirnie Ladeside have been slapped with a three-game ban on crowds – after a linesman was targeted with a pellet/kep gun during a match.
The Garnock Valley club will start the new West of Scotland League (WoSFL) season behind closed doors following their punishment from the WoSFL board.
An official complained about being struck in Kilbirnie's 2-1 victory over Darvel in the Premier Division in March.
The fixture was vital to both sides as the Blasties fought unsuccessfully to stay in the West's top flight while Darvel battled it out for the title which they went on to win.
A notice of complaint was issued although the culprit, believed to be a child under the age of 16, has not been traced.
Kilbirnie's opening three home games in the First Division – against Neilston this Saturday; St Roch's on Saturday, August 13 and Gartcairn on Saturday, September 3 – must be played without supporters in attendance.
The club has also been ordered to beef up security on six matchdays with secretary Gordon Ronney admitting the value of the punishment will cost them in the region of £7,500.
Fans have rallied round in a bid to help the Blasties out with almost half that figure donated ahead of a fundraising tournament due to take place yesterday.
Gordon told Ayrshire Football News: "We had five notices of complaint against us last season with the last of them being the incident which happened against Darvel.
"The linesman was hit by a small pellet gun, a kep gun type of thing. It happened on a few occasions throughout the game and we believe the person that did it was a young minor, aged between 12 and 15.
"The official never made us aware of it during the game which we found disappointing as we could have acted upon it. But it didn't come to light until after the game finished.
"We recognise the board had to act on this. The value of the fine is based on what we would get through the gate, bar monies, raffle monies and so on. It's a fair chunk of money we have to find.
"We decided not to appeal based on the fact that it was a serious offence and we also had to show the supporters of the ramifications of this sort of thing."
Gordon knows fan behaviour will be watched closely at Kilbirnie next season but feels the message has hit home and supporters will keep their noses clean.
"I give great credit to our supporters as they acknowledge this was a serious offence and they've raised around £3,000 through a GoFundMe page to mitigate that loss to us," he said. "I applaud them for that.
"It's a tough one for us not having any revenue for six weeks and you've got wages to pay. Hopefully we will all learn from this and we won't have any notices of complaint at all next season.
"Our supporters got great praise at Bonnyton Thistle, Cumnock and Darvel for cleaning up after themselves so they are good people. The club is at their heart. But they are young and naive. I always say you are not the same person at 25 as you were at 15.
"We don't want to chase them, we want to engage with them. But if we step out of line, we will be punished; and we can't afford to be punished."
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