Fighting that forced a Commercial Division soccer match between Devonshire Colts All-Stars and KPMG to be abandoned at Frog Lane Field on Saturday was sparked by the conduct of an unidentified KPMG supporter.

That's the belief of All-Stars player Andre (Sandy) Thomas who said he witnessed the initial incident and later received a cut lip after being hit by a stray punch when trying to step into the middle of a fight.

Thomas, who was playing at right back and was close to the action, claimed the trouble began when a KPMG supporter, who was sitting on the Colts team bench, approached a teenager on his bike listening to a radio.

Thomas said he did not see the KPMG supporter touch the radio but after he walked back to the bench the youngster on the bike followed him, telling him "you broke my radio''.

By that time, according to Thomas, a group of spectators on the bank watching the game, noticed something had happened and were encouraging the youngster with the radio "to get some money to pay for the damage.'' "The ball was in their half and I had enough time to look at what was going on. I could see trouble brewing,'' said Thomas, who added that by that time the youngster had gone to retrieve a bottle.

"I told him to put the bottle down, that we didn't need that type of violence here,'' explained Thomas. "Then he sat back on his bike.'' The incident, however, flared up again at half-time when the fan on the bike confronted the same KPMG spectator. "The guy on the bike was shouting abuse to the KPMG fan,'' recalled Thomas.

"At half-time we (All-Stars team) were by the canteen and the KPMG players were by their bench and it seemed a big argument took place between the spectator and the guy with the radio who then pushed him.'' It was then that the spectators on the bank came down and got involved.

KPMG player Ian Rix was hurt in the resulting free-for-all and required hospital treatment.

"I ran over to grip a guy (from the bank) who was throwing punches and kicks at the guy Rix,'' said Thomas. "I gripped hold of him and he took another swing and I got hit in the face. When I realised there was some bleeding I let the guy go.'' Thomas, who serves as assistant treasurer at Devonshire Colts, strongly denied that any of the spectators involved were All-Stars fans.

"The story (on Monday) identified the young man as being a Devonshire Colts fan but I can clearly and emphatically deny this. Because people are at a club doesn't make them your fans.'' Thomas said the injury to Rix occurred when he tried to run away from the fighting and was set upon by a group of fans after slipping. "He was chased by the hooligans and they targeted him for no particular reason, just because he was a player,'' explained Thomas.

"They kicked and punched him and when they found out he was lying motionless on the ground they stopped. Anybody who was involved with KPMG would have got it. We tried to defuse the situation as much as possible.'' Thomas said it was common on Saturdays for soccer fans in the area to watch the match at the nearest ground.

According to Thomas one member of the KPMG team he spoke to agreed the match should be abandoned and replayed at a later date. He was also told by one of their players that they would raise money for the radio and give it to All-Stars to give to the owner.

"This had nothing whatsoever to do with Devonshire Colts,'' Thomas insisted.

"It was an horrendous and cowardly act by the spectators but it could have been avoided.

"If he (KPMG fan) felt the music was too loud he should have gone over to the other side of the field where the other (KPMG) fans were.''