The FA have fined Leeds United £20,000 after a number of players surrounded the referee at the end of the game at Stamford Bridge, but we’re mystified as to how Chelsea avoided a similar punishment.
The fine relates to Chelsea’s penalty in the 93rd minute of the game, when Rudiger got himself between Mateusz Klick and the ball, and then exaggerated what little contact there was. When the kick was awarded several Leeds players surrounded referee Chris Kavanagh to protest. As it came so late in the game this controversial decision was very hard to take, as we had played very well and deserved to take a crucial point from this match.
But that’s not how the FA saw it, and they charged Leeds with a breach of rule E20.1. A statement on their official website says "Leeds United FC admitted failing to ensure that its players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion when they surrounded the match referee, and the club has accepted the standard penalty.”
It goes without saying that this punishment hasn’t gone down with the Leeds fans on social media, with many wondering if the football authorities are against us as usual, and whether it’s one law for the top 6 and one law for the rest. One fan commented "within this game alone, 5 Leeds players surrounded the ref for the penalty in the last minute Vs 8 Chelsea players surrounding the referee for their penalty claim in the first half.”
To say nothing of their conduct as frustrations boiled over at Chelsea’s time-wasting tactics in the dying seconds of injury time. Rudiger ran the length of the field to get involved in the resulting fracas, and there is photographic evidence of Havertz using his head on Firpo, yet Chelsea got away scot free.
When both sides did their best to uphold the traditions of this fixture and remind us of some of the lively encounters between the teams in the early 1970s, it’s a mystery why one side was punished and not the other. The FA have certainly got some explaining to do.