BEVERLY HILLS, May 21, (THEWILL) – The unsportsmanlike behaviour that marred the final moments of Tuesday’s English Premier League fixture between top four hopefuls, Chelsea and Leicester City was a blight on the game. And so, the Football Association has charged both sides with failing to control their players during that game at Stamford Bridge.
The nearly 22-man brawl, which erupted during stoppage time of Chelsea’s 2-1 win, followed a challenge by Leicester’s Ricardo Pereira on Chelsea full-back Ben Chilwell near the technical area.
In the melee that followed, players and staff from both teams squared up to each other and the clubs now face possible sanctions as a consequence.
The FA statement of the charge read: “Chelsea FC and Leicester City FC have both been charged with a breach of FA Rule E20.1 following their Premier League fixture on Tuesday, May 18, 2021.
“It is alleged that both clubs failed to ensure their players and/or club officials conducted themselves in an orderly fashion and/or refrained from provocative behaviour during the 93rd minute.
“Chelsea FC and Leicester City FC both have until Tuesday, May 25, 2021 to provide their respective responses.”
With the victory Chelsea claimed that Tuesday, the Blues climbed up to third thereby severely denting the UEFA Champions League prospects of Kelechi Iheanacho’s side. This was made worse the following day when Liverpool defeated Burnley.
Jurgen Klopp’s charges flogged the Clarets 3-0 to scale past Leicester to fourth place in the league’s standings and look well-heeled to pick the last EPL ticket for Europe, instead of Leicester, in next season’s campaign with just only match left of the present season.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
