A SOCCER match involving Cliftonville was abandoned in Belfast last night after a match official was hit by a bottle thrown from the crowd.
The final between Clifton and Ballymena at Windsor Park, in the Calor/Co Antrim Shield, was called off in the 66th minute when a referee's assistant was hit on the shoulder by a bottle thrown from the area where Cliftonville supporters were gathered.
The Cliftonville chairman, Mr Jim Boyce, who is also chairman of the Irish Football Association, was quoted afterwards as condemning those responsible for the missile throwing as "morons".
However Mr Boyce also described the decision to call off the game as "unbelievable".
This is the latest in a series of incidents to beset Cliftonville, who are the only team in Northern Ireland's Premier League to attract mainly nationalist support.
Last September there was violence when local Protestant residents blocked a street in East Belfast to prevent Cliftonville supporters travelling through to a League Cup semi-final against Crusaders at The Oval.
The most serious incident occurred in October, at Shamrock Park in Portadown when a crowd of 150 loyalists attacked buses carrying Cliftonville supporters at Shamrock Park in Portadown.
That match had to be abandoned when the visiting players refused to come out for the second half.
After last night's aborted match, which was attended by, around 2,500 spectators, an RUC spokesman said "there was no major crowd trouble before, during or after the game".