'Fans Should Self-Police'  (Sky Sports)

Football supporters in England should 'self-police' in order to avoid watching football from behind protective netting or fencing, according to former Chelsea midfielder Ray Wilkins.

Wilkins' comments come after two incidents in which players were hit by missiles thrown from the stands at the weekend.

A number of coins and others objects were thrown at Manchester City players during Sunday's FA Cup tie at Stamford Bridge.

On Saturday, West Brom midfielder Chris Brunt was struck in the face by a coin thrown from the end occupied by his own supporters.

Wilkins believes supporters need to stop the incidents happening among themselves, or the authorities may decide to introduce netting or fences, as is normal in other leagues across Europe such as the German Bundesliga.

"Nothing should be thrown - I've said many times that this should be self-policed by people in the stadium," Wilkins said. "If you threw it, I would give you up.

"People can call me whatever they want but I don't want to see that at Stamford Bridge because now everyone's tarnished with the same brush.

"Do we want to start watching games from behind fences again? That's the bottom line. I can remember it many years ago - watching football through a fence is not a pleasant situation."

Former Rangers and Southampton midfielder Neil McCann agreed with Wilkins, but warned fencing may not be the solution to the problem.

"Even though the performance was unacceptable to a lot of the punters there and they're venting their frustration, you can never condone throwing anything," McCann said.

"How would you get round that if you don't self-police? You can't start suddenly emptying pockets coming through the gates or have metal detectors or anything like that.

"I don't even think a fence would stop it - it has to be done within the crowd."

Chelsea have condemned the actions of their own supporters and have vowed to cooperate with police investigations into the matter, but the club is still likely to face disciplinary action - something Wilkins disagrees with.

"If you punish the club that's unfair," Wilkins added. "They're saying 'play behind close doors', but that's a lot of money - it's punishing the club. It's the individuals that need to be sorted out. The sooner we can sieve out these guys the better we'll all be."