PNE refund fans from Beckford and Doyle fines

Eoin Doyle and Jermaine Beckford clash at Hillsborough

The strikers clashed in the 90th minute of the 2-1 defeat, arguing after Doyle had chosen to pass to Marnick Vermijl and not Beckford.

Doyle and Beckford apologised to their team-mates and management staff at training today, and then to supporters via a statement released by the club.

The statement read: “We apologise wholeheartedly for our actions at Hillsborough.

Eoin Doyle celebrates scoring at Hillsborough - a few minutes later he was sent-off

“Our behaviour was not acceptable in any walk of life, let alone on a football pitch.

“We let down the management, our team-mates and most importantly the supporters, who had spent a lot of money to support the team.

“We accept the punishment given to us by the club and The FA and fully support the club’s decision to refund the ticket costs to the supporters.

“We have apologised to the manager, the staff and our team-mates and hope that the supporters accept our total remorse for the incident.

“It is our intention to now put this behind us and to give our all for the benefit of Preston North End going forward.”

Beckford and Doyle have both received three-game suspensions from the FA, the standard ban for a straight red card for violent conduct.

That rules them out of the games against Blackburn, Nottingham Forest and Bristol City, with them next available for the Boxing Day clash with Leeds United.

North End manager Simon Grayson said: “The fans who travelled to Sheffield Wednesday were let down by the actions of Jermaine Beckford and Eoin Doyle and it is only right that the fines imposed on the players are used to refund the cost of the ticket money for the fixture.

“It has been made very clear to the players and the squad as a whole that this behaviour is not acceptable by any employee of Preston North End and a swift and strong response was important, however, it has now been dealt with and the matter is closed.”

Supporters who paid bought their ticket for the Wednesday game in advance, can claim their money back in person at the Deepdale ticket office by the same method of payment used to purchase it – they can do so from tomorrow (Tuesday, December 6).

Those fans who paid on the day at Hillsborough must provide their ticket in order to receive a refund.