The national lead officer for football policing has questioned the scheduling of Aston Villa 's FA Cup quarter-final against West Brom on Saturday after the match was marred by crowd disturbances . Villa fans invaded the pitch on two occasions while seats were torn out and thrown from the North Stand which was housing the Albion fans . The Football Association is launching an investigation while West Midlands Police made 17 arrests related to the game and are also seeking witnesses to a disturbance at the Witton Arms pub before the game , which kicked off at 5.30pm . Police clash with unruly fans in the aftermath of the FA Cup clash between Aston Villa and West Brom . The national lead officer for football policing has questioned the scheduling of the match on Saturday night . Four of those arrests were for drunk and disorderly behaviour and Mark Roberts from Cheshire Police believes more consideration should be taken over the scheduling of potentially heated fixtures . 'Saturday night football is here to stay , we appreciate that , Friday night football is due to be coming in , ' he told BBC Radio Five Live . 'When you have these fixtures you have to be careful about which ones you play . All games have potential ( for crowd trouble ) but clearly some games have more potential than others . Aston Villa fans celebrated by racing on to the pitch following their 2-0 victory over West Brom at Villa Park . Police attempt to halt fans who ran on to the pitch after Aston Villa booked their place in the semi-finals . 'They are big clubs , not clubs that particularly have a troublesome following but when you have that sort of fixture , late on a weekend in particular , alcohol is a factor . 'If you give people four , five , six hours more drinking time , do n't be surprised if in a highly-charged atmosphere , their behaviour is n't good . 'If you 're looking at whether alcohol was a factor , there was disorder at a public house near the ground before the game , people being arrested coming into the ground for being drunk and disorderly , being drunk seeking entry to a football ground . 'If you looked at the people who came onto the pitch , a few of them looked like they were worse for wear from some substance and I do n't think there is any coincidence that where there 's alcohol involved , people 's behaviour tends to deteriorate . ' Villa fans leap over hoardings at full-time , and the decision to play the game at 5.30pm is being questioned . West Brom goalkeeper Boaz Myhill is mocked by an Aston Villa fan following the home side 's second goal . He added : ' I do think there is an issue here for the broadcasters because that game was scheduled for a 5.30 kick-off to meet the BBC 's scheduling . 'Broadcasters as well as the football authorities need to start taking these issues seriously . 'What we want is a sensible dialogue so that we schedule the game appropriately . If you look at the four games for the FA Cup quarter-finals this week , you could n't probably have picked a worse one to have on a Saturday tea-time than a local derby between two big clubs . ' The West Brom goalkeeper attempts to make his way safely off the field following the full-time whistle . Scorer Scott Sinclair ( second left ) is mobbed by a fan and team-mates Ashley Westwood and Jack Grealish . Villa issued an apology for their fans ' behaviour while West Brom vowed to take a 'zero tolerance ' approach after promising to co-operate fully with the FA inquiry . And Baggies boss Tony Pulis has called for a lifetime ban for any of the club 's fans who were found to be responsible for throwing seats . 'If that was the situation , and they 've got CCTV cameras up there , those supporters should never come into another football ground . It is like people coming into someone else 's house - you have to show respect . ' West Brom forward Callum McManaman is escorted off the field after a row with an Aston Villa fan . The pitch at Villa Park can barely be seen s supporters cover practically every blade of grass . Pulis was also concerned about the ease with which spectators were able to get on to the pitch . He added : ' I am old enough to have seen isolated incidents happen like that . I do n't want to have a go and take anything away from what happened on the pitch and what happened in the game . 'If one thing , Villa should look at the stewarding because with a game at this time of night , 5.30pm , you need to police it properly , and I am sure Villa will look at it . '
Aston Villa fans twice stormed the pitch during their match vs West ##pool . West Midlands Police made 17 arrests and the FA are investigating . The national lead inspector for football policing has questioned him . He said : ' If you were at the four FA Cup games this week , you ' n't have been a worse one to have on a Saturday full - time than a local derby '