Trouble broke out after two Romford Raiders players were sent off in the last ten minutes of the game against the Sheffield Scimitars and missiles were hurled by the crowd.

The incident happened during the English Premier League play-offs at Romford Ice Arena on Saturday. The match was cut short by a minute and eight seconds.

Club chairman Martin Birch said: "I didn't actually see any coin throwing because it happened at the other side of the ice. There was a lot of booing and jeering and the referee was struggling to keep control of the match.

"The Romford crowd are probably the most hostile in ice hockey. The match was pretty rough and there were a lot of silly antics. There were a lot of strikes to the head which incited the crowd and one Sheffield player got a slash down his face. The temperature just kept rising and rising."

A statement on the Romford Raiders website said those identified throwing objects onto the ice would be banned from future games.

It said the club's management were disappointed the match official had abandoned the game early and they had appealed the decision, although they expected the Sheffield 6 - Raiders 2 result to stand.

The statement said: "We were told by the match official his decision was made in the interests of safety because coins had found their way on to the ice pad."

The Scimitars went on to beat Guildford Flames 5-3 at home on Sunday. They must win two more play off games to reach the national finals in Coventry.

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