FA to look into coin-throwing incidents

LONDON, Nov 6 (Reuters) The Football Association is to investigate two coin-throwing incidents which marred West Ham United's victory over Arsenal and Fulham's win over Everton at the weekend.

Arsenal's Dutch forward Robin van Persie was hit by a coin during yesterday's Premier League game at Upton Park, while Fulham's Danish midfielder Claus Jensen was struck by one thrown by an away fan at Craven Cottage on Saturday.

''The absolutely key thing is to identify whoever was responsible for throwing these coins and make sure they are dealt with appropriately,'' an FA spokesman said today.

Along with studying the referees' reports, the FA will contact the clubs and ask them what steps are being taken to identify the coin-throwers.

Any police action against those responsible should be matched by the clubs ''taking action against those supporters and banning them from the ground,'' the FA spokesman said.

Angry at the coin-throwing incident, West Ham manager Alan Pardew told reporters after yesterday's 1-0 win that ''Something like this spoils our day.

''That fan should be ashamed and hopefully he has been caught on CCTV and we can never let them back in to the club.'' Fulham manager Chris Coleman called for a prison sentence for the coin-thrower in Saturday's 1-0 win, telling the BBC: ''I hope the offender is identified. It was a coward who threw the coin. Send him to prison or somewhere away from football.'' An Everton spokesman told the Merseyside club's Web site: ''As a club we condemn without hesitation the actions of the moronic individual who threw a coin at Claus Jensen.

''We would urge anyone who knows his or her identity to contact the police immediately.'' REUTERS PDS HT1730