West Bromwich Albion hit back at Reading claims

Feb 27 2010 by Christopher Lepkowski, Birmingham Mail

WEST Bromwich Albion have angrily hit out at Reading’s complaints about the Hawthorns’ stewards.

Royals boss Brian McDermott complained in his post-match press conference about the conduct of the club’s staff. And Brian Howard was yesterday quoted in a national newspaper, accusing stewards of trying to attack Reading players after they had boarded the team bus. Howard also claimed that a steward had tried to influence a linesman to get Jobi McAnuff sent-off following his confrontation with Youssouf Mulumbu.

Albion totally refute these allegations.

A Baggies spokesman said: “The FA requested a copy of the video of the game and we have provided them with an unedited version of ITV’s coverage.

“If requested, we will also provide the FA with our closed-circuit television footage.

“We are satisfied that, in difficult circumstances, the stewards acted in an appropriate manner.”