The FA has sanctioned League One newcomers Stevenage for an incident stemming from their fixture with Bradford City last season.
An Independent Regulatory Commission has imposed an action plan, as well as a £7,500 fine on Steve Evans’ side for a breach of rules E21.1 and E21.3 during their February fixture. The club admitted failing to ensure that its supporters conducted themselves in an orderly fashion. The Bantams won the fixture 3-2, but it was tempered with ill feelings resulting in today’s ruling.
In the 35th minute, with the home side winning 1-0, a Bradford supporter entered the field of play leading to his arrest and ejection from the stadium. In the 87th minute, moments after Jamie Walker had restored Bradford’s one-goal lead, a Stevenage supporter ran onto the field of play from a location behind the assistant referee towards the middle of the pitch. He ran past the referee and attempted to assault Andy Cook.
The supporter, recorded as a 14-year-old, had to be dealt with by the Safety Officer, who left the control room to physically apprehend the offender, leaving it without supervision. Stevenage received heavy criticism for the lack of planning, and stewarding response to the incident, categorised as gross negligence. The supporter in question has received a three-year ban from football grounds.
In addition to the £7500 fine, Stevenage must now ‘develop a proactive and comprehensive action plan in relation to the risk of pitch incursion by spectators and ensure that all interested parties are familiar with its contents’. They must also ensure that ‘any external agency contracted by the Club has a comprehensive service level agreement in place that expressly stipulates the respective roles and responsibilities of the Club and the agency in respect of security and/or safety issues’.
They will also undertake a formal and comprehensive risk assessment for each fixture, as well as run a media campaign across its website and social media accounts emphasising the Club’s policies and zero tolerance towards disorderly behaviour.
Writer’s View
The incident itself wasn’t as serious as it could have been, but for a moment, there were Jack Grealish vibes. Nobody wants to see these incidents, but how a club responds is vitally important.
In this instance, Stevenage clearly fell short of the required response, and that has led to rather strong repercussions. They’ll be working doubly hard now to ensure no further incursions from either set of supporters.
What that means for visiting supporters will be interesting, as Stevenage don’t have a great track record for stewarding visiting fans, with Grimsby supporters, in particular, unhappy at treatment when visiting their ground.
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