Chelsea and West Ham United have received fines totalling £625,000 by the FA for a mass confrontation of players during their Premier League fixture last month — a more expensive punishment than the one handed to Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur after their infamous “Battle of the Bridge” encounter in 2016.
The “serious and unsightly” incident involving 20 players at the end of the match at Stamford Bridge on January 31, which Chelsea won 3-2, has resulted in a record punishment of £325,000 for Chelsea and £300,000 for West Ham.
By comparison, the Battle of the Bridge resulted in a £375,000 fine for Chelsea and a £225,000 fine for Tottenham. In that match there were two incidents during the game and one after full-time. Twelve yellow cards were issued and Tottenham’s Mousa Dembélé was banned for six games for violent conduct.
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Chelsea’s fine in 2016 was reduced to £290,000 on appeal, so should they not appeal or fail with an appeal on this latest fine, it would be the most expensive punishment for a mass confrontation in Premier League history.
Chelsea and West Ham had accepted charges of failing to control their players during last month’s incident, which took place in stoppage time after Chelsea had recovered from 2-0 down to lead 3-2 thanks to a late strike from Enzo Fernández.
As West Ham sought to rescue a point, their winger, Adama Traoré, clashed with Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella near the corner flag. Traoré threw the defender to the ground, which then triggered the brawl. João Pedro rushed over and pushed Traoré towards the advertising boards and then both sets of players became involved in the fighting. João Pedro and Traoré were booked, while Jean-Clair Todibo was sent off for grabbing João Pedro around the throat.
In its written reasons, the independent regulatory commission outlined that previous incidents contributed to the size of the fine, with this incident Chelsea’s sixth over the past five seasons and the second “non-standard” breach in the past 12 months. Chelsea were fined £150,000 last month after a water bottle was thrown at the Aston Villa dugout, allegedly by a Chelsea staff member, at the end of their Premier League match in December.
The 2016 ‘Battle of the Bridge’ resulted in a £375,000 fine for Chelsea and £225,000 for Tottenham
JOHN WALTON/PA
The commission also rejected the suggestion that Cucurella played no role in beginning this confrontation, while also suggesting that three Chelsea players “were in some way seeking to incite the crowd during and towards the end of the incident”. It added that there was “no justification for this behaviour, irrespective of what had happened during the course of the game or within the mass confrontation itself”.
This was also West Ham’s second “non-standard” breach in the past 12 months, after they were fined £60,000 for failing to control their players during their Premier League game against Nottingham Forest last May.
The commission agreed that there had been no further violent conduct other than the behaviour of Todibo, who was dismissed, but they noted that a “large number of West Ham United players did behave in an improper and provocative manner and contributed to what was a serious, unsightly incident”.
The disciplinary decision is subject to appeal. West Ham and Chelsea have been approached for comment.
Chelsea have been involved in a number of similar incidents in recent years
ALASTAIR GRANT/AP