After six months, it has been revealed the FA fined Blackburn Rovers £35,000 and warned the Lancashire side for misconduct, in relation to their 1-0 defeat to Ipswich Town during the 2023/24 season in March.
Rovers suffered a 1-0 defeat to the Tractor Boys after an early Conor Chaplin goal settled the game at Ewood Park. The scoreline wasn’t the biggest story from that day though.
On June 21st, a FA Spokesperson claimed that Rovers had been charged following the actions of their supporters during the defeat to Kieran McKenna’s side.
It came in strange circumstances, after the game took place in March, with the FA taking their time to make a decision on the outcome of the supporters’ antics.
The FA said that the severity of the offence could determine the punishment, with a fine the most likely outcome, if Rovers accept the charge.
Now in September, the charge has now been revealed, with Rovers having to pay said fine.
FA take action on Blackburn following crowd issues versus Ipswich in March
The statement from Rovers’ club website reads: “Blackburn Rovers have been fined £35,000 and warned for misconduct in relation to crowd control at their match on Friday 29 March in the EFL Championship against Ipswich Town.
It was alleged that the club failed to ensure its spectators and/or supporters (and anyone purporting to be supporters or followers) conduct themselves in an orderly fashion and don’t use words or otherwise behave in an improper, threatening or provocative way; and throw missiles or other potentially harmful or dangerous objects towards the pitch.
Blackburn Rovers admitted this charge and an independent Regulatory Commission imposed these sanctions during a hearing.”
Tensions were high in the fixture, with Rovers being three points above the relegation zone following the result, as Ipswich rose to the top of the Championship.
In a period of worrying signs, concerning crowd trouble was at a high back in March.
Preston North End were fined £10,000 and ordered to implement an action plan following the same misconduct charge.
The same happened further down the line with Portsmouth and Nottingham Forest also being found to have breached FA guidelines for the same reason, happening before the campaign ended.
Crowd trouble continues with Blackburn
In November, John Eustace’s side are set to face Leeds United. Just before the news of Rovers’ charge was released, Lancashire Police have taken action before their encounter with the Whites in just over two months’ time.
The Police’s concern revolved around the two fiery fan bases, as the kick-off time of 3pm has now been moved to an earlier time of 1:30pm as there is expected to be a large volume of Leeds fans traveling after 7,000 made the trip last season.
| Rovers’ next home games leading up to Leeds fixture | |
|---|---|
| Sept 28 | QPR |
| Oct 19 | Swansea City |
| Oct 23 | West Brom |
| Nov 2 | Sheffield United |
| Nov 6 | Stoke City |
| Nov 23 | Portsmouth |
| Nov 30 | Leeds United |
It has been previously reported that when Wrexham visited Ewood Park, they felt “unsafe and dangerous”. This wasn’t a fan concern but more the management of the club’s turnstiles.
One fan from the article by The Leader states: “People were getting squashed, it was ridiculous. Thankfully, we managed to squeeze through after a couple of fans made room for us to make our way to the seats, but there were no stewards to be seen.”
Concerning reading over the last year for Rovers.
A growing theme for traveling fans to Ewood, as Rovers will have to take more precautions to resolve them getting any future fines regarding fan trouble, but also their overall management.
