A spate of unsavoury incidents cast a shadow over yesterday’s U*Bet FA Trophy final between Valletta and Floriana at the National Stadium.

A keenly-contested match, watched by a bumper crowd, had been played in good spirit but tempers boiled over in the dying stages after Floriana struck the winning goal two minutes from time courtesy of Ivan Woods.

As referee Paul Caruana sounded the final whistle, a clutch of Valletta players ran towards Floriana midfielder Christian Cassar after the latter allegedly made a provocative gesture towards the Valletta fans.

Cassar was pushed to the ground and Valletta striker Terrence Scerri was seen aiming a kick at the stranded Floriana midfielder. Referee Caruana saw the incident and showed the red card to Scerri and Valletta midfielder Jamie Pace.

Defeat to their bitter rivals in an FA Trophy final also proved too much for some Valletta supporters who vented their anger by hurling seats onto the pitch. There were also skirmishes involving City fans and the police in the stands.

A spokesman for the Malta FA told The Times last night that they will be studying video evidence of the incidents to take disciplinary action against the culprits.

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