Everton are braced for a fine of up to £50,000 from the English FA after objects were flung at Manchester United players during Saturday's fifth-round FA Cup tie, when visiting goalkeeper Roy Carroll admitted that he feared for his safety after being struck by a coin.

The match referee, Rob Styles, confirmed that he had included three separate incidents in his match report, filed to Soho Square yesterday, detailing missiles hurled at United players.

Carroll was struck by a coin thrown from the Gwladys Street end, with Merseyside Police subsequently making 33 arrests in post-match clashes - believed to have been pre-arranged - between rival supporters, prompting England's sports minister, Richard Caborn, to question the logic of staging early evening kick-offs for potentially volatile fixtures.

Footage filmed by the BBC, as well as that picked up on closed-circuit television, has been sent to the local police in an attempt to identify the home fan guilty of throwing the coin at Carroll.

The culprit fled the ground before police could move in, though should he be pin-pointed and convicted Everton will ban him from Goodison Park for life. "The actions of one complete moron has let down this football club," said a club spokesman.

That uncompromising stance has earned approval from the English FA. "We welcome the comments from Everton Football Club immediately following the match and their desire to have the culprits identified and then for the police to deal with them," said FA spokesman Adrian Bevington. "Individuals who throw missiles must face action from the police, through the courts, and then receive banning orders to prevent them attending any football both at home at abroad."

The referee confirmed that Carroll said he had feared for his safety, with Styles also handing a mobile telephone - which had been flung on to the playing area - to the fourth official Mark Clattenburg. Much of the spite was aimed at Wayne Rooney and objects were thrown at the teenager. Two arrests were made at the time.

Those incidents along with the violent post-match clashes which occurred in Everton Valley, around a mile from Goodison Park, prompted Caborn to call into question 5.30pm starts, when pubs have been open all afternoon, especially for potentially explosive fixtures such as this.

"We might have to re-think the early-evening kick-off," Caborn said. "We know it is done predominantly for television, but we might have to reflect on that."

However, Merseyside police had the final say as to whether to approve the start time and clearly felt it had the resources to cope with any potential clashes.

"The reality is that about 300 to 400 people came here intent upon causing trouble," said the assistant chief constable, Mick Giannasi. "The intensity of violence we faced was unusual, but this was the biggest football operation we've mounted here in four years. We brought it under control quickly."

"We understand this was a pre-arranged incident between rival fans, but it took place more than a mile from the stadium," added an Everton spokesman.