The Football Association has fined Cardiff City £15,000
after homophobic chanting was directed at Chelsea during their EFL Cup
quarter-final.
Chelsea beat League One
side Cardiff 3–1 at Cardiff City Stadium on 16 December.
Cardiff confirmed they have also been handed an FA “action
plan” following the abusive, offensive, homophobic and discriminatory chanting
that occurred in the second minute of the match.
A club spokesperson said Cardiff accept the charge and
acknowledge the incident took place, but will appeal what they consider to be
an “excessive” financial penalty.
The club intends to present evidence that it took all
reasonable steps to educate supporters, issued warnings, and acted promptly on
the night by removing individuals involved and displaying messages on the
stadium’s big screen.
A club statement read: "The chant is defined as a
homophobic slur and was made a prosecutable offence for anyone found to sing or
use the words by the Crown Prosecution Service in January 2022. The Football
Association considers this specific chant a breach of FA Rules (rule E21) and
has thus pursued formal disciplinary action the club.
"The imposed action plan remains active until the
conclusion of the 2026-27 season and will include the development of existing
initiatives in respect of awareness and accountability.
"The club acknowledges the sanction. Cardiff City
Football Club has a zero-tolerance policy to all forms of discrimination and
will continue to work with the police and governing bodies to eradicate the
scourge from our game and society."
