Newcastle United said on Monday they were appalled by violence which broke out after their 3-0 home defeat to local rivals Sunderland on Sunday in the English Premier League.
“We were embarrassed and appalled by the behaviour of a minority of so-called fans who last night (Sunday) were involved in disturbances and disorder in Newcastle city centre after the match,” the club said on the nufc.co.uk website.
Newcastle vowed to take the strongest possible action against anyone involved in the disturbances and would ban them from matches for life.
“These deplorable individuals have no place at Newcastle United and bring shame on the club and the vast majority of its proper, law-abiding fans,” they added.
Twenty-nine people were arrested on Sunday, the majority for public order offences, as fans clashed in and around the city’s main railway station, Northumbria Police said.
The violence came a day after fighting broke out among Millwall fans attending their side’s FA Cup semi-final against Wigan at London’s Wembley Stadium.
Photographs in the British media on Monday showed one supporter in a Newcastle United replica shirt apparently trying to punch a police horse.
The horse, called Bud, was not injured and was “safe in his stable and appears fine”, said West Yorkshire Police Horses, which provides mounted patrols for football matches around the country.
Sunderland’s victory boosted the Wearside club’s hopes of escaping relegation and took them to 15th on the Premier League table, two points behind 13th-placed Newcastle and three above the drop zone.