DARLINGTON Football Club say they will not let the disorder at a non-league football game this weekend damage their reputation.

A small fight took place before the Billingham Town versus Darlington FC game on Saturday, which delayed kick-off by ten minutes.

Police attended the scene but nobody was arrested.

A statement issued by Darlington FC said: “At the start of yesterday’s game with Billingham Town a fight broke out between a small number of Darlington fans. It marred what was otherwise a wonderful day out in the sunshine for the vast majority of our fans, and detracted from the brilliant result on the pitch.

“The board wish to make clear, on behalf of ourselves, the fans, the manager, the players, and all involved with the club, that we will not tolerate this kind of behaviour.

“We are working closely with Billingham Town and Cleveland Police to identify those involved in the disturbance, and when identified these people will be banned from future fixtures. We will not let one or two individuals mar our reputation or spoil this season’s experience for the rest of us.”

Manager Martin Gray said he wanted people to come to matches to watch them play football, not to cause problems.

He said: “I just want people to come and enjoy what we’re doing on the pitch. We’ve got a fantastic fan base, I don’t want anybody coming here with the intention of getting loads of lager inside them and upsetting people’s day. We’re not about that.

“We’ve got great fans and it’s important that we conduct ourselves in the right manner on and off the pitch.

“We’re a football club and we want people to come and watch us play football, we don’t people to come here to cause problems.

“We want people to support us and, to be fair, up until now the vast majority have.”