Tottenham Hotspur fined £75,000 by FA for failing to control homophobic chanting


Tottenham Hotspur fined £75,000 by FA for failing to control homophobic chanting

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club has been fined £75,000 by the Football Association (FA) for failing to control homophobic chanting from its supporters during a match against Manchester United in September.

Tottenham deplored the “abhorrent homophobic chanting” from a group of its supporters after winning 3-0 against Manchester United on 29 September 2024. The chanting was said to have taken place during the 49th and 79th minutes of the Premier League fixture.

During the evening of the incident, Tottenham released a statement promising to take “the strongest possible action” against the perpetrators who were allegedly targeting United’s midfielder Mason Mount and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.

Tottenham expressed: “The club is aware of abhorrent homophobic chanting from sections of our away support at Old Trafford today. This is simply unacceptable, hugely offensive and no way to show support for the team…

The club will be working closely with the police and stewards to identify anyone instigating or joining in with the chanting – we shall take the strongest possible action in accordance with our sanctions and banning policy…

Supporters in attendance today can report anything they’ve seen or heard in confidence to supporterservicestottenhamhotspur.com. We shall be continuing our work with our LGBTQ+ supporters’ association, Proud Lilywhites, to ensure a welcoming and inclusive environment for all fans on matchdays.”

However, the club was charged with misconduct by the FA in November for failing to control the chanting. The FA ruled that the club failed to ensure that the crowd conducted themselves properly and not in an offensive, abusive, indecent, or insulting manner. Therefore, the club accepted “two breaches of FA Rule E21 in relation to crowd control misconduct.” An independent Regulatory Commission enforced a £150,000 fine. However, Tottenham appealed, and the fine was reduced to £75,000.

The FA’s full statement, including the written reasons for the Regulatory Commission and Appeal Board’s decisions, can be found here.

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