FA fined over fans’ conduct

The Football Association have been fined €5,000 (£4,035) by UEFA for the ‘inappropriate conduct’ of England’s fans during last Friday’s Euro 2012 group win over Sweden in Kiev.

The fine was for the attempted pitch invasion by England supporters during the Group D match, European football’s governing body confirmed in a statement.

The FA have decided not to contest the fine, believing the relative small amount reflects UEFA’s belief the incident was not serious.

“The FA accepts UEFA’s sanction in relation to the incident versus Sweden and we consider the matter closed,” said an FA statement.

The FA presented video evidence and strong mitigating circumstances in their defence at a UEFA hearing, including that the potential “invasion” during the 3-2 win was nothing more than exuberance rather than a deliberate plan by some supporters to get onto the pitch.

After England’s second and third goals by Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck between 20 and 30 fans surged forward towards the barriers but no one got further than the outside of the Olympic Stadium’s running track.

The incident was so minor the UEFA match delegate is not thought to have even mentioned it in his report of the game.

After so many years when the behaviour of their supporters has been called into question, the FA have been able to confirm there has not been a single arrest in either Poland or Ukraine.

UEFA have been criticised for their system of fining countries at Euro 2012.

The Croatian FA were yesterday fined £65,000 after their fans were found guilty of racially abusing Italy striker Mario Balotelli, but Denmark’s Nicklas Bendtner was hit by an £80,000 penalty for revealing underwear sponsored by a bookmaker.