Oxford United have been cleared of any blame following the missile-throwing incident at The Kassam Stadium on Boxing Day.

One of the 2,600 Luton Town fans at the Division 3 derby that day hurled a cigarette lighter on to the pitch, and the incident was mentioned in Walsall referee Mark Warren's match report.

Although it was an isolated moment of crowd trouble which had nothing to do with Oxford United fans, it was a concern for the club because they are currently 'on probation' following several instances of coin-throwing at the Manor Ground last season.

However, United safety officer Tony Ashley confirmed: "That incident has been dealt with by the Football League and they are satisfied that we've taken every possible precaution to prevent it."

Despite claims in some quarters that the thugs are returning to football, following a catalogue of crowd violence around the country, Ashley says that is certainly not the case at Oxford.

United fans have generally been well behaved since the unsavoury scenes in the North Stand which marred the season-opener against Rochdale last August.

The coin-throwing which led to Jamie Carragher's red card at Arsenal on Sunday was the latest in a string of high-profile such incidents involving unruly fans.

However, Ashley said: "At The Kassam Stadium, it is much easier to catch people now because of the high-tech CCTV we have got, and thankfully the coin-throwing hasn't started here. That cigarette lighter at the Luton game was the only throwing incident we have had all season.

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