Sheff Utd fines reach £445k after ‘poor behaviour’

Championship play-off finalists Sheffield United have been fined £180,000 after the latest incident in what the Football Association says is an “incredibly poor period of behaviour”.

The Blades have been docked the six-figure sum after their sixth breach of the season at the end of their Championship match at Plymouth Argyle last month.

With the latest sanction, the Blades have been fined a total of £445,500 this season for recurring issues over player and staff conduct.

The club had already been fined £265,500 for failing to ensure their players and/or staff conducted themselves in an orderly fashion in incidents during matches against Wrexham, Watford, Portsmouth, Coventry City and Bristol City.

Argyle, meanwhile, have been fined £7,500 for their part in the fracas at Home Park after both clubs faced an independent disciplinary commission.

Plymouth scored twice in the final 10 minutes of the game on 12 April to come from a goal down to win 2-1.

In its submissions to the commission, the FA said: “It is concerning that the club have been unable to improve its control over players and staff following the previous five breaches this season.

“Plainly, reminders from various sources as to the expected standards of behaviour have proven insufficient to affect change in the participants’ behaviour.

“The club must demonstrate a robust response to addressing the incredibly poor period of behaviour by its participants.”

Blades manager Chris Wilder confronted Plymouth players Mustapha Bundu and Darko Gyabi near the away fans following the win which dented United’s automatic promotion hopes.

Having started on the field of play, the incident continued into the tunnel area before security staff helped return order.

The commission was particularly critical of the actions of Wilder, who had debriefed his players on the field before being “overly aggressive” towards Gyabi and Bundu and going on to be “aggressive in the tunnel”.

“The commission also considered a significant aggravating feature was Mr Wilder’s conduct, which the commission considers was provocative and a contributory cause of the mass confrontation,” the report stated.