DEREK McINNES revealed he and his players were spat on by Apollon Limassol fans as Aberdeen supporters clashed with baton-wielding stewards and riot police in an ugly night in Cyprus.
The Pittodrie side crashed out of the third qualifying round of the Europa League for the fourth year in a row after a below-par display in Larnaca sent them out 3-2 on aggregate.
But the game was marred by the behaviour of the home fans who were seen throwing flares, firecrackers and smoke bombs on to the pitch with Swiss referee Stephan Klossner threatening to abandon the match if another missile came on the surface.
Read more: Apollon Limassol 2 Aberdeen 0: McInnes’ nearly-men wilt in the Cyprus heat
And Aberdeen have vowed to launch a probe after the end of the game saw fighting among the 700 Dons fans and the local stewards, which caused the riot police to wade in, with women and children caught up in the carnage.
The trouble continued outside the AEK Arena too as the Scots left the ground. And a furious McInnes was unhappy at their treatment on the Mediterranean island.
He said: “I heard the referee say to the fourth official to have an announcement made that if one more flare came onto the pitch he was abandoning the game.
“I’ve heard what happened to our supporters at the end as well. You expect it to be passionate and noisy but when flares are getting thrown at your goalkeeper and your fans getting treated the way they were treated, it’s quite unfair on everybody that.
“The stewards were very heavy-handed with them, going in with tear gas and being very aggressive towards them. When you see flares getting thrown on the pitch and supporters behind the dugout spitting at our players and myself and the staff: that is when stewards need to be more visible.
Read more: Apollon Limassol 2 Aberdeen 0: McInnes’ nearly-men wilt in the Cyprus heat
“I expected what was going on. It wasn’t any real surprise. But when you hear the treatment our supporters got at the end that’s when it starts to stick in your throat a wee bit.”
UEFA are sure to launch an investigation too with both Aberdeen and Apollon certain to be in trouble for the disgraceful scenes.
And McInnes admitted his side blew a great chance again to qualify for the play-off round.
He said: “When you see the fans applaud the players and sing their names at the end of the game, it’s really quite heartbreaking. They give us so much support and you want to give them at least one more round and maybe get to the Group Stages. I think the supporters recognise the efforts of the player. I think we’ve all got to take the responsibility that that was one that got away.
“I’m not going to bleat about being unlucky. Apollon Limassol dealt with the first half scenario better and I thought over the two games we had more dominance in spells but ultimately they’ve found a way to win the game.
Read more: Apollon Limassol 2 Aberdeen 0: McInnes’ nearly-men wilt in the Cyprus heat
“In cup football you get what you deserve. There are fine lines between winning and losing. I don’t think the players could have given anymore in terms of the energy and the work they put into it.
“We came with a game plan to be solid through the middle but still carry a threat. We wanted to play our more natural game which was imposing ourselves and getting our passing game going.
“We didn’t get our better players on the ball enough in the first half. I just wanted us to be better in possession. They picked us off at the end when we were chasing it but I thought we had enough chances to get something from the game.”
“I’m disappointed because this was a missed opportunity. But we want to get back in Europe and we need to have another good league campaign to do that. I want to get off to a winning start against Hamilton.”
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