Chelsea receive huge FA fine for 'very serious incident' in Aston Villa defeat | OneFootball

Chelsea have been fined a substantial sum by the FA after an "unidentified member" of the club's staff was accused of throwing a plastic drinks bottle towards the opponent's technical area in December.

The FA announced on Friday that they have imposed a £150,000 fine on Chelsea for breaching FA Rule E20 in their match against Aston Villa on December 27 2025.

The match, which took place at Stamford Bridge, ended in the visitors' 2-1 win with Ollie Watkins grabbing a brace to complete a comeback.

In the statement released by the FA, they confirmed that referee Stuart Atwell wrote a report of an incident after the full-time whistle.

IMAGO / NurPhoto

"Following the match, I was made aware of an allegation that an unidentified member of the Chelsea technical area had thrown a plastic drinks bottle in the direction of the Aston Villa technical area," Atwell's report reads.

"The alleged incident occurred immediately after the final whistle."

Former Chelsea goalkeeper and assistant coach Willy Caballero was in charge of the dugout at the time, while then head coach Enzo Maresca had to watch from the stands due to a touchline ban.

IMAGO / Action Plus

Neither Chelsea nor the FA managed to identify the person responsible for throwing the bottle despite the video evidence, but the club admitted to the charge earlier this month and had it dealt with by a paper hearing.

The FA noted that Chelsea have been found breaching the rule E20 four times in the last five years, mostly for surrounding match officials during a match.

Throwing a bottle towards the opponents is a much worse offence than surrounding a referee, obviously.

"The Commission considered the throwing of the bottle at or into the AVFC technical area as a very serious incident," the FA said in their report about the case.

"The video footage shows the bottle coming out of the CFC dugout and travelling at speed (indicating its weight) into the AVFC technical area.

"The bottle passes very close to the head of an AVFC substitute and lands in the AVFC technical area.

"The act was dangerous and could have easily provoked a reaction from the AVFC staff – it was only luck that it did not strike someone."

Chelsea could still appeal the decision as per the FA's rules and regulations.