Chelsea FC and West Ham United have been fined £325,000 and £300,000 respectively after a mass confrontation during their January Premier League meeting at Stamford Bridge.
The sanctions follow both clubs admitting breaches of Football Association rules regarding improper and provocative conduct. Chelsea were cited for failing to ensure their players refrained from improper behaviour in the 95th minute, while West Ham were charged for not preventing provocative and/or violent conduct at the same moment.
An independent regulatory commission described the incident as “a serious episode” involving multiple Chelsea players. The panel noted that both clubs had previous breaches under FA Rule E20.1, which prohibits actions deemed improper, offensive, violent, threatening, abusive, indecent, insulting or provocative. These past offences influenced the size of the fines.
The flashpoint occurred deep into added time when Chelsea forward Joao Pedro reacted to a shove by West Ham winger Adama Traore on Blues defender Marc Cucurella. Players from both sides converged, prompting a lengthy VAR review.
Referee Anthony Taylor issued a straight red card to West Ham defender Jean Clair Todibo for grabbing Joao Pedro by the neck.
The commission noted that Cucurella’s actions were provocative but said Traore’s reaction was disproportionate, triggering the confrontation. It also found three Chelsea players attempted to incite the crowd toward the end of the incident, behaviour deemed unjustifiable. While no additional West Ham players were found to have acted violently, many behaved improperly and provocatively, contributing to a serious and unsightly episode.
Both clubs admitted the charges and expressed contrition, which the panel acknowledged in its ruling.
Leave a comment