Chelsea hit with new £40,000 FA fine after Ipswich penalty row

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·21 de janeiro de 2025

Chelsea hit with new £40,000 FA fine after Ipswich penalty row

Blues punished after players surrounded referee to protest early spot-kick award in Portman Road loss in December

Chelsea have been hit with a new £40,000 fine by the Football Association (FA).

Vídeos OneFootball

The Blues received the punishment on Tuesday following an FA charge of surrounding a match official that came after their 2-0 Premier League defeat by Ipswich on December 30.

Chelsea were accused of failing to ensure that their players did not behave in an improper manner in the 10th minute of their final match of 2024 at Portman Road, after many became incensed at the decision to award Ipswich an early penalty following goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen’s challenge on Liam Delap.

The penalty was initially awarded by John Brooks and confirmed following a check by VAR official Michael Oliver, leaving Chelsea’s players furious as several surrounded the referee and both Enzo Fernandez and Levi Colwill were shown yellow cards for dissent.

Chelsea have now been fined for the incident after admitting the charge, with the FA saying in a statement: “Chelsea have been fined £40,000 after surrounding a match official during the Premier League fixture against Ipswich Town on Monday 30 December 2024.

“The club admitted that, during the 10th minute of the fixture, it failed to ensure that its players did not behave in an improper manner. The sanction was subsequently imposed by an independent Regulatory Commission.”

It is not the first time that Chelsea have incurred an FA fine this season, having had to pay £75,000 back in October after becoming the first team in Premier League history to have six or more players booked in three separate matches in the same season.

They were also charged by the FA with failing to control their players after an on-pitch melee that occurred during a feisty draw with Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge on October 6.

Explaining the decision to award Ipswich that penalty in the game against Chelsea in December, the Premier League said in a statement at the time: “The referee’s call of penalty for a foul by Jorgensen on Delap was checked and confirmed by VAR, who deemed there was sufficient contact for a penalty.”