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Huddersfield Town have been fined £70,000 by an independent regulatory commission for a pitch invasion which followed their Championship play-off semi-final win against Luton Town.
Town beat Luton 1-0 in the second leg of their contest to reach the Wembley final against Nottingham Forest, with fans spilling onto the playing surface after the final whistle.
With one fan appearing to slap Luton defender James Bree on the head and an elderly Luton fan left with a head injury after being hit by a coin, Huddersfield have now been fined.
An independent regulatory commission had called for the club to pay £70,000 after the Football Association charged them with breaching FA Rule E20.1.
The rule states that clubs should “ensure its spectators – and all persons purporting to be its supporters or followers – conducted themselves in an orderly fashion, and refrained from using provocative, threatening, and violent behaviour whilst encroaching onto the pitch.”
Town’s operations director Ann Hough has since offered a statement condemning the actions, outlining the severity of the fine.
“The financial impact should not be underestimated,” Hough said.
“The severity of this fine is a clear indication of just how serious the events following our play-off semi-final win against Luton, alongside other similar scenes across football in that time, have been taken by the governing bodies.
“On top of this significant fine, it is possible that this can also have financial knock-on effects on the club’s policing and stewarding costs if our games are now judged to be higher risk than before.”
Huddersfield went on to lose the final at Wembley 1-0 while having no shots on target but two penalty claims denied, with Forest gaining promotion to the Premier League.
Hough added: “We have no choice other than to take significant action against any individual that runs onto the field of play at any point, or who acts in a provocative, threatening, or violent way.
“That will range from bans from the John Smith’s Stadium to legal action. There is no place for that kind of behaviour at Huddersfield Town.”
An independent Regulatory Commission has fined Huddersfield Town £70,000 for a breach of FA Rule E20.1 that took place at the end of our Sky Bet Championship Play-Off semi-final game against Luton Town on Monday 16 May 2022.#htafc
— Huddersfield Town (@htafc) September 29, 2022
