FA commission reveals written reasons on Leeds United charge as club is fined and issues statement

The charge arose from an incident during the game against Brighton and Hove Albion back in March and Leeds say they have accepted the fine.

An FA spokesperson said: “An independent Regulatory Commission has imposed an action plan and £150,000 fine on Leeds United for misconduct in relation to crowd control that took place during the 20th minute of their game against Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on Saturday 11 March.

“Leeds United admitted that they failed to ensure their spectators conduct themselves in an orderly fashion and do not use words or otherwise behave in a way which is improper, offensive, abusive, indecent, or insulting with reference to sexual orientation.”

According to the written reasons from the commission, video evidence was used in the case and the chanting could be heard on national radio. The report read: “The volume of the chanting leads to the inevitable conclusion that a very considerable number of Leeds supporters engaged in this homophobic chanting and that it was not a brief event.”

It went on to state: “The words used by the offending spectators referenced a negative attitude towards theLGBT+ community and a perceived association of that community with Brighton & Hove Albion FC. The use of the phrases is obviously and plainly discriminatory and highly derogatory. The chanting is highly abusive and offensive to those right-thinking people who heard it or came to know of its use in these circumstances.”

In considering the sanction to impose, the commission pointed to ‘substantial deficiencies as to pre-match planning by Leeds.’

The commission also noted its ‘surprise and disappointment’ at the lack of evidence as to the action taken by Leeds United against any supporters relating to the incidents, beyond the ejection of one and the arrest by the police of another.

The report said: “No evidence was placed before the Commission that these two supporters had been identified as involved in the homophobic chanting or whether such actions relating to them were for other misconduct.”

The action plan includes a requirement for Leeds to conduct a full review of its stewarding management, provision and deployment, along with the quality of stewarding training and existing processes are to be closely examined in order to support ‘proportionate reactions’ to matchday incidents and potential post-match investigations.

The full written reasons and action plan can be downloaded via THIS PAGE on the FA website.

Leeds admitted the breach of FA rule E21.4 and in a statement said they will increase the work already being done to eradicate homophobia.

The statement said: “Leeds United accepts the £150,000 fine imposed by the FA regarding homophobic chanting at our fixture with Brighton & Hove Albion in March. Over recent years we have worked hard to eradicate homophobia in our community with the launch of Marching Out Together, sponsorship of Leeds Pride and various activities in local schools. Clearly our efforts have not been enough and we need to increase the work we are doing with our fanbase to ensure everyone is clear that any form of homophobia and discriminative chanting will not be accepted at Leeds United.”