West Ham and Chelsea fined by FA for misconduct
Both Chelsea and West Ham have been fined for misconduct during the Premier League match between the two London sides on 24 October 2015, according to an official statement from The Football Association. West Ham were fined £40,000 while Chelsea were fined £50,000 by the FA.
It was a match which saw Nemanja Matic get sent off after referee Jon Moss brandished a red card in the first half. The incident itself had also caused Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho to speak to the referee at half-time and an altercation which followed caused him to be sent to the stands for the second half. The Portuguese boss was seen in the West Ham Directors box as the Blues suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Slaven Bilic’s side.
The match saw as many as six Chelsea players go into the referee’s book for either bad fouls or dissent. Apart from Matic, Cesar Azpilicueta, Willian, Cesc Fabregas, John Obi Mikel and Diego Costa were also shown yellow cards over the course of the 90 minutes. From West Ham, only midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate was booked for a foul on Ramires.
The ensuing fallout saw Jose Mourinho receive a one-match ban for his role in the fracas at half-time. The ban saw Mourinho banned from entering the Britannia Stadium as Stoke City defeated Chelsea 1-0 on Saturday.
FA statement warns both clubs on future conduct
The FA’s statement reads as follows.
Following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing, West Ham United and Chelsea have been fined £40,000 and £50,000 respectively after both clubs admitted an FA misconduct charge.
The charge was for failing to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion during the fixture between the two sides on 24 October 2015.
Both clubs were also severely warned as to their future conduct.
Mourinho had abused referee at half-time
Earlier this week, referee Jon Moss had revealed what had transpired in the tunnel at half-time when Mourinho questioned his decision to send off Matic in the first half.
“When myself and my colleagues left the field at half-time, as we entered the tunnel area to get to our dressing room, Mr Mourinho was waiting for us, clearly agitated, and began aggressively asking about first half decisions,” Moss’ statement said.
“Rather than publicly speak to him I asked him to step into the entrance of my dressing room escorted by Simon Sutton, the West Ham Security Manager. Mr Mourinho asked me about a tackle, an offside and a goal line clearance. I gave him brief answers to his questions.”
Chelsea had had a goal ruled out after the ball had failed to cross the line. Goal Line Technology informed the referee that it wasn’t a goal.
“After this I asked him to leave the dressing room area. He refused. I asked him again. After he refused again I asked Mr Sutton to escort him from the room.”
“At this point Mr Mourinho became very aggressive and animated. He shouted that ‘you f***ing referees are weak (Arsene) Wenger is right about you. You are f***ing weak’.”
“I advised Mr Mourinho not to take his position in the technical area for the second half due to his actions.”