Four men were arrested during a major police operation at the East Lancashire derby today, as police thanked the majority of fans for enjoying the derby in good spirits.
Those arrested including two balaclava-clad Burnley fans, while a number of supporters were ejected from the stadium as Burnley FC and Blackburn Rovers met for the first time in the league in six years in a hotly anticipated affair at Turf Moor, with second playing third.
Burnley showed their class to down Rovers 3-0, and the victory has moved the Clarets top of the table heading into the World Cup mini-break.
In attempts to keep things calm, in the lead up to the game alcohol limits and changes to fan transport were made, while pubs in Burnley were told to close their doors post-match to quell any trouble.
And while there were fireworks on the pitch - including some which bizarrely landed on the pitch after being let off outside the stadium - off the pitch the matchday passed without too much incident.
Following the game, Lancashire Police gave an update on the operation, which continues through Sunday.
The force thanked "everybody who attended and supported their team while behaving appropriately" and had to deal with a "very small number of people whose behaviour was deemed unacceptable".
Police said: "At around 11.25am we intercepted a group of men wearing balaclavas who were attempting to engage in disorder with away coaches travelling along Todmorden Road, Burnley.
"We deployed a number of resources to the area and arrested two men on suspicion of drug possession offences.
"They were a 22-year-old man from Burnley and a 26-year-old man from Burnley."
A Great Harwood man, 54, was arrested at Turf Moor on suspicion of common assault, while a man from Rochdale, 40, was arrested outside the ground on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly.
All four remain in custody, and a small number of fans were also kicked out of Turf Moor.
Police added: "We are also aware of isolated pockets of disorder and missile throwing during the game which will form part of the post match investigation.
"This will be thoroughly investigated by our officers and officials from both football clubs. Footage will be reviewed and the appropriate action will be taken against anybody involved."
Pre-game, the Clarets said: "Any supporter identified throwing objects, will be robustly dealt with by the club and Lancashire Police, with lengthy stadium bans and football banning orders issued.”
ACC Russ Procter, who was Gold Command for the fixture, said: “Firstly, I would like to place on record my thanks to all those supporters who have enjoyed the rivalry, supported their team and behaved appropriately.
"This was highlighted by the two-minute silence before the game being impeccably observed by both sets of supporters.
“This has been a significant policing operation which will continue into the evening.
"A number of different teams and specialist officers and officials from both football clubs have performed key roles in maintaining order and keeping the people of East Lancashire safe. I would also like to thank them for their coordinated efforts.
“Sadly, a minority of people’s behaviour has overstepped the mark and we have pro-actively intervene where necessary to make arrests.
"Although disappointing, I don’t want these isolated pockets of poor behaviour to detract from what has been a good, well-attended East Lancashire derby fixture.”
In an attempt to stop anti-social behaviour, away fans were banned from drinking on the buses to the ground, while in the stadium no alcohol was served after kick off, with drinks limited to two per person.
After the game, pubs in Burnley were also asked to keep their doors closed to Blackburn Rovers fans for an hour while fans cleared out of the town.
The lead up to the game had proven controversial with some supporter after it was moved to midday on Sunday for Sky Sports.
Some people expressed concern kick off was so close to Remembrance Sunday events, leading to kick-off being pushed back half an hour, but some were still annoyed at the match being played on a Sunday - despite it being commonplace for sporting fixtures to go ahead on Remembrance Sunday for many years.
Burnley's win saw them ascend to the top of the table, while Blackburn are in third spot heading into the World Cup mini-break.
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