LEEDS UNITED have been fined £20,000 for their title celebrations against Derby County.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side had already wrapped up the Championship title before their clash at Pride Park in June.
Leeds have been fined for their title-winning party after defeating DerbyCredit: Reuters
Despite that, they still ran out 3-1 winners and were determined to cap their return to the top-flight following a 16-year absence with a party.
They celebrated afterwards on the pitch, even though the game was behind closed doors, but some of the players got a little too carried away.
Several could be seen using pyrotechnics, leading to an initial charge from the Football Association after Leeds admitted a breach of rules.
Now they have been hit in the pocket and warned over their future conduct.
An FA statement read: “Leeds United has been fined £20,000 and warned as to its future conduct after admitting a breach of FA Rule E20.
“The club failed to ensure that its players and/or officials conducted themselves in an orderly fashion as pyrotechnic devices were used following the completion of a fixture against Derby County FC in the EFL Championship on 19 July 2020.”
Leeds have issued an apology to the FA over the incident.
And they also say they have written to those staff members involved regarding the matter.
The club attracted strong criticism for staging an open-top bus celebration after being crowned champions just days later.
Despite strict coronavirus lockdown restrictions and telling fans to stay at home, Leeds brought out the Championship trophy to parade in front of those unable to watch their win over Charlton.
Club officials claimed the celebration was deployed as a way of telling fans NOT to stay out.
The Elland Road outfit kick off their Premier League campaign on Saturday.
They travel to Anfield to take on title-holders Liverpool.
Leeds claim open-top bus celebrations were to help fans stay away from Elland Road after ploy totally backfires
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
