PRESCOT Cables Football Club has vowed to ban any fans found to be responsible for shouting vile abuse during Friday night's derby against City of Liverpool FC.

Cables and City of Liverpool played out a 1-1 draw in the Northern Premier League Division One West clash at the Joseph Russell Stadium. 

During the clash, "abhorrent" abuse was allegedly aimed towards City of Liverpool manager Paul McNally and his family.

Prescot Cables strongly condemned the abuse and issued an apology to City of Liverpool officials, and to the manager and his family.

In a statement on Saturday, the club said: "Prescot Cables strongly condemns the behaviour of a minority of spectators at last night's game against City of Liverpool. Specifically, the personal abuse directed at City of Liverpool manager Paul McNally and his wife and children who were present at the game.

"Over 1,300 fans watched both teams play out a fiercely competed derby game, with City of Liverpool grabbing a late goal to take a share of the points.

"The atmosphere at the game was as you would expect at a derby game. Lots of 'banter' between rival sets of fans enjoying the game.

"However abuse of the nature witnessed last night by this minority cannot be condoned, and must stop. This was not banter. The club will now be forced to investigate this incident further and will issue bans to individuals identified as being responsible.

"The hard work that the players, management team, volunteers and the directors put in to make nights like last night happen are being seriously jeopardised by these individuals who have no place at our club, nor do they represent our values."

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The statement added: "Prescot Cables as a club has always prided itself on it being a 'family', with everyone being welcomed into the ground on matchdays to enjoy the atmosphere that fans create on matchdays.

"The club takes a firm stance on antisocial behaviour including abuse and discrimination of any kind. We would encourage fans to work with us to ensure that incidents like the one that occurred last night do not happen again.

"The club would like to publicly go on record in apologising to City of Liverpool officials, first team manager Paul McNally, his wife and his family for the abuse suffered last night."

Meanwhile, in a statement online, City of Liverpool FC said: "Non-League football is raw. Its not the sanitised sport that our national game has become at the top level. That is why we love non-league football.

"People giving each other stick both on and off the pitch is a part of the game."

The club described the "targeted abuse" which was issued on Friday as "crossing a line".

"Sexually explicit chanting, targeting a man’s wife and family is abhorrent and cannot in any way be excused and cannot be allowed to go unchecked," the statement added.

"Women and children being threatened by grown men is completely beyond the pale.

"An elderly and infirm grandmother, sat in the Main Stand being swilled by a gang of youths allowed to roam freely around the ground – we genuinely have no words for that.

"Clubs routinely call themselves 'family clubs' and must be a safe space for Women and children, especially with the woman’s game growing so rapidly in the country.

"Misogynistic and sexual chanting must not be tolerated and is in fact a criminal offence.

"Football needs rivalries. Friday’s absolutely brilliant crowd of 1,300+ is testament to that and no doubt Prescot Cables FC and lots of other local bars and restaurants benefitted financially from it.

"A dozen individuals must not be allowed to ruin that – but equally they must not be allowed to get away with their actions either.

"We welcome the statement and apology issued by Prescot Cables FC on Saturday evening. It is the very least that could be expected for Paul and his family and also Adam and his family after the shameful events of Friday night.

"The committee of Prescot Cables must now take urgent action to identify the culprits and ban them.

"We ourselves have already banned two of the culprits from the return fixture and any future home fixture and we are collating further evidence to see if there is anyone else who should not be allowed within 100m of a non-league football ground.

"Non-League football should have been the winner on Friday night. Allowing the actions of a few to go unsanctioned will ensure the game itself is the loser."