It is a well-known fact that commentators love to say ‘no one likes to see this sort of thing’ when players clash on the pitch, in spite of the fact that everyone does, in fact, love to see that sort of thing. The problem is that organisations such as the Football Association have a duty to ensure that players try to behave themselves, given the fact that young people are often watching and can be influenced by such events. So it is for that reason that the FA have issued both Chelsea and Nottingham Forest with a fine in the wake of the clash that their players had on the pitch during their match at Stamford Bridge on the sixth of October.
What Happened?
In the 49th minute of the home game for Chelsea against Nottingham Forest, Chris Wood took advantage of a good set-piece routine in order to slide the ball past Robert Sanchez in the Chelsea goal. Just eight minutes later, a left-footed shot from Noni Madueke drew the Blues level, with both teams looking to try and snatch the winner during the course of the rest of the game. Chelsea had the advantage, on account of the fact that James Ward-Prowse was sent off for two bookable offences during the game. Tempers flared as the game wore on, with both sets of players getting involved in a melee as the full-time whistle loomed.
@cfcisaac30 Neco Williams bad tackle on Cucurella. That was supposed to be a straight red card. Levi Colwill defending Cucurella. Bad refereeing. #Chelsea #foryou #Cucurella #chelseafc #premierleague #cfc #ucl #fyp #footballtiktok #xyzbca #trendingvideo #KTBFFH #viral #enzomaresca #levicolwill #necowilliams #nottinghamforest ♬ original sound – Isaac Chelsea Fan
Neco Williams appeared to push Marc Cucurella into the Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, causing players and staff from both teams to front up to one another. Levi Colwill got into Williams’ face and others then joined in. There was a great deal of pushing and shoving from both sides, including a moment when Nicolas Jackson appeared to thrust his hand into Morato’s face. In the wake of the match the Chelsea manager said, “These things can happen. In terms of emotion, the team is fighting altogether and I don’t think some of them lose their heads. They were, all of them, in the game. I was happy with that”.
Fines for Both Clubs
An independent regulatory commission looked into what happened and decided that both clubs were guilty of failing to control their players during the Premier League clash. Chelsea were issued with a £50,000 fine on account of the fact that it was just the third such incident involving the club over the past five seasons. Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, were fined £150,000 as it was the sixth time that something similar had happened to their players in the past three years, with the commission saying that there was a ‘lack of contrition’ and no evidence that Forest are trying to address what has become a ‘serial problem’.
The two clubs, for their parts, admitted the Football Association charge, which resulted in the fines that they were issued being reduced to £40,000 and £125,000 respectively. Forest then decided to appeal against even the reduced fine, whilst Chelsea paid theirs and moved on from the incident.