BOSSES at Burnley FC said a major investigation was now under way into the way the controversial East Lancashire derby with Blackburn Rovers was managed.

It comes as police said that urgent action had to be taken to ‘save lives and avoid injuries’ in a crush in the concourse area of the away end before the game.

The review will focus on policing and stewarding as well as the sale of bottled beer to fans at the Burnley v Blackburn Rovers match at Turf Moor on Sunday.

Police said that there was ‘severe overcrowding’ in the bar area before the derby match in the away section of the David Fishwick stand.

And Chief Insp Jeff Brown said a decision was made to close the bar in the interests of safety, but a consequence of that, he said, was that many supporters were able to smuggle plastic bottles of beer back onto the stand.

Many bottles were also used as missiles by fans.

Bosses at Burnley FC said a detailed debriefing will take place, including a review of the sale of bottled beer, and ‘lessons must be learned’.

More than 50 fans were arrested on the day and the toilet facilities in the away section were destroyed as were 150 seats.

The Football Association, the sport’s governing body, said that it was to write to both clubs for their explanations of events on the day before deciding if any action needed to be taken.

A Burnley FC spokesman said: “There are lessons that will be learned and we will involve the police and Blackburn Rovers in a detailed debrief.

“We will look into what can be improved in the future because undoubtedly improvements can be made.”

Chief Insp Brown said: “Overall it was a successful operation. But before the match there was a major issue with serious congestion in the away end.

“Clearly in the run-up to the game large numbers of people wanted to have a drink and this caused crushing around the bar.

“Police officers on the scene relayed back to me their serious safety concerns about the incident. This had to be brought under control and I made the decision to close the bar.

“It is not correct to say that the police allowed fans to take their beers into the stands. But I am aware that many fans were able to smuggle their drinks to their seats.

“Fans would normally be prosecuted for taking drinks into the stands but we decided that the priority was to save lives and avoid injuries in the crush.”

He said that many of the people arrested on the day were for a breach of the peace or public order offences.