DUNDEE United manager Jim Goodwin tonight called on clubs to use CCTV footage to identify and punish fans who set off pyrotechnics inside grounds after a smoke bomb thrown by an Aberdeen supporter missed teenage midfielder Ryan Duncan by inches at Tannadice.
Goodwin, who was sacked of the Pittodrie club at the end of January following a dire run of results, was pelted by missiles which were thrown by the travelling supporters as he took charge of his first United game.
The Irishman, whose team remain four points adrift at the bottom of the cinch Premiership table after slumping to a 3-1 defeat, revealed that he was struck on the head by a coin during the encounter.
However, he was alarmed when he saw a smoke bomb almost hit Aberdeen player Duncan after Duk had put the visitors ahead in the second-half and warned that “something serious” will happen as a result of illegal pyrotechnic use unless action is taken.
“Look, I obviously wasn’t expecting a warm reception from the Aberdeen fans,” he said. “They were clearly disappointed with how things ended at the club for me. But, yeah, I was disappointed by the fact there were coins and other projectiles getting chucked down on top of us.
“I have to say, it is definitely just a minority few. There is always a few bad eggs who tarnish the rest of the club because Aberdeen is a terrific club, one of the best supported clubs in the country. There were two-and-a-half, three thousand of them down the road tonight supporting their team.
“The atmosphere I thought was good. The Dundee United fans were very good as well. They gave us a great reception as well coming out before the game and even at half-time they were brilliant getting behind the team.
“But a few mindless idiots unfortunately have us talking about stuff we really don’t want to be talking about. It was disappointing, but I am not going to go over the top on it. I am sure it will be dealt with as necessary.”
“There was a pie, there was a cup of juice, there was a couple of coins and one of them unfortunately landed on top of my head. So, yeah, it was disappointing. Thankfully, it was nothing serious, but it is not what you want when you are going to your work.”
Goodwin added: “I understand why the supporters like the flares. They do generate a bit of atmosphere and a bit of colour. But one of the smoke bombs that got chucked on nearly hit Ryan Duncan in the head.
“I don’t know what needs to happen before that kind of thing gets caught out. I think we have got CCTV at pretty much all of the big clubs now so maybe we need to identify these individuals and make sure it gets dealt with before something serious happens.”
