Town skipper Luke Chambers believes the football authorities need to punish clubs whose fans attack players during matches by deducting points and making them play games behind closed doors.
At the weekend Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish was punched by Birmingham City season ticket holder Paul Mitchell, 27, who was sentenced to 14 weeks in jail earlier today after pleading guilty to assault and encroachment onto the pitch, while there were a number of other incidents elsewhere in which players were confronted by supporters on the field of play.
"It was scandalous what happened in the Villa game,” Chambers told the club site.
"I’m surprised it hasn’t happened before. Well, I think it has happened before but people just forget about it. "
"The abuse that players take has got worse over the years but it’s been allowed to get worse. I think it’s the society we live in now.""
"The way to stop fans coming on is to punish the clubs because that punishes the fans. A points deduction and playing behind closed doors would stop it.”