SO much for the Respect campaign — it is already starting to look more like Anarchy in the UK.
Well, in English top-flight football, certainly.
For Premier League clubs to be approaching £1million in matchday misconduct fines before the Christmas decorations have gone up is the clearest possible signal that behaviour is heading in the wrong direction.
Not just the players and managers are losing control, but assistant bosses, sporting directors and even one notoriously combustible owner.
And with the most cluttered part of the entire season about to launch — clubs face as many as 12 matches in just five weeks across various competitions — the FA probably need to hire more staff for its fines department to cover for holiday absences.
Whether it is behaviour falling, a response to perceived refereeing inadequacy, or that fines are an increasingly ineffective means of controlling tempers, is a question that may not be possible to answer.
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But what is clear is that almost every week brings another financial penalty or FA misconduct charge, with the current Prem aggregate standing at £917,500.
The biggest single fine levied so far was the £125,000 Nottingham Forest were ordered to pay after the spat sparked by Neco Williams’ shove on Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella in the latter stages of October’s Stamford Bridge draw.
Defender Cucurella was pushed into Blues boss Enzo Maresca, leading to a fracas involving both benches and players.
The melee also cost Chelsea £90,000, half of which was after the Blues picked up six yellow cards from ref Chris Kavanagh.
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Maresca responded not with any contrition, but praise. He said: “I like the way the team is fighting. I don’t see any problems with that.”
Perhaps unsurprising then the Forest game was the second of THREE matches in which Chelsea picked up six bookings this term — costing them £150,000 in total.
Forest, in turn, really are walking a financial tightrope following their repeated offences. Last season’s attack on VAR Stuart Attwell, ‘outing’ him as a Luton fan, cost them £750,000 — plus a £40,000 fine for boss Nuno Espirito Santo and £24,000 for defender Williams.
But it means that Forest started this season with their copybook already blotted.
And that was before owner Evangelos Marinakis opted to spit towards officials in the tunnel after their home loss by Fulham.
Marinakis is still serving the five-game ban imposed by an independent commission and which was upheld on appeal.
To be fair, so far at least, we have not witnessed the chaos that marred Fulham’s FA Cup defeat at Manchester United in 2023.
Cottagers striker Aleksandar Mitrovic received an eight-game ban and the two clubs rattled up fines adding up to £180,000. PGMOL bosses want their officials to report any instances in which they are harassed or feel intimidated, on or off the pitch.
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Leicester, Tottenham and West Ham have all been punished for collective misbehaviour by players.
Southampton skipper Jack Stephens ended up with a five-match ban and £50,000 fine after his furious response to a clear red card against United.
Man Utd coach Darren Fletcher and Wolves sporting director Matt Hobbs have both been unable to keep a lid on their frustrations with decisions they did not like.
And there have been 14 instances of clubs receiving six or more cards in a match, with Bournemouth and United both guilty on two occasions, each offence adding a further £25,000 to the standard fine.
No wonder that within the FA there is a feeling that a light needs to be shone on the snarling petulance being shown time and again on the pitch, from the dugout and even the directors’ box.
Wembley chiefs know that what happens in the Premier League is reflected across the country on grassroots pitches, leading to a worrying shortfall in referees.
It is an ugly look for the beautiful game and there is little reason to think it will not get worse.
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Maybe the punishments need to become even more severe, even leading to points deductions.
That might, at last, make people think.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
