West Brom fans set off a series of smoke bombs while travelling to the King Power Stadium ahead of their side's clash with Championship table-toppers Leicester City this afternoon.
Clouds of blue smoke could be seen erupting in both a train and a Wetherspoons pub ahead of the match, which sparked plenty of controversy on social media platforms.
West Brom fans engulf public train in blue smoke
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West Brom fans smoke bomb a train
West Brom fans let off a smoke bomb on the train, on their way to Leicester today… 🤨
Why?? 😩 #WBA pic.twitter.com/xvNEETZ2wn
— Football Away Days (@FBAwayDays) April 20, 2024
Despite often resulting in fines and bans, pyrogenic displays have become increasingly more common at football grounds in recent years. However, this may be the first time, at least in England, that we have seen such devices used in such frequency in the hours before a match.
Videos first surfaced just after midday of a group of Baggies supporters letting off several smoke bombs within a moving train, quickly engulfing the carriage in a cloud of blue smoke.
Setting off such devices within a stadium is one thing, but on public transport, it becomes a much more serious issue and likely affected the lives of many innocent bystanders in the process.
Lightning strikes twice in Wetherspoons pub
Pyro set off on train ✅
Pyro set off in Wetherspoons ✅Maybe the #WBA fans will save one for the game 😅
— FanHub (@FanHub) April 20, 2024
Clearly not learning their lesson, more videos then surfaced shortly after of yet more smoke bombs being set off by supporters of the West Midlands club, this time inside a Wetherspoons pub.
Arguably not as serious as the train incident as the vast majority of people inside the building were likely part of the travelling group, but nevertheless, it still would have had an array of consequences.
Most notably for the bar staff present who were forced to work in such conditions and likely had plenty of cleaning to do once the mob of supporters departed the premises.
Fan reaction to smoke bombs
The two incidents sparked controversy online, with plenty of fans taking to social media platforms to voice their anger at such behaviour.
One fan took to X, formerly Twitter, to say: “For some reason, some football fans have this weird obsession with pyro. They think it makes them like Galatasaray when in reality it just looks tinpot as f***.”
While even supporters of West Brom were quick to criticise the fans in question, stating “I’m a Baggies fan and there’s no excuse for this. We seem to have a new generation of moronic supporters.”
Given the importance of the game, it is understandable that emotions may be running high, but that is no excuse for such behaviour – particularly in public environments.