Wolves fine

[Vegas Claret]

be careful what you chant - precedent set

Wolves handed landmark six-figure FA fine for homophobic chanting during Chelsea match
Wolves fans directed the homophobic 'rent boy' chant towards Chelsea during a Premier League clash in April, with the Midlands side now hit with a landmark fine by the FA

Wolves have been fined £100,000 by the FA after admitting a failure to prevent their fans aiming homophobic chants at Chelsea in April.

A statement from the FA read: "An independent Regulatory Commission has imposed an action plan and £100,000 fine on Wolverhampton Wanderers for two breaches of FA Rule E21 that happened during the 61st and 71st minutes of their Premier League game against Chelsea on Saturday 8 April.

"Wolverhampton Wanderers admitted that they failed to ensure their spectators and/or supporters – and anyone purporting to be their supporters or followers – conduct themselves in an orderly fashion, and do not use words or otherwise behave in a way which is improper, offensive, abusive, indecent, or insulting with either express or implied reference to sexual orientation."

Wolves fans sung the 'rent boy' chant, classified as a homophobic hate crime by the Crown Prosecution Service in January 2022, in the 61st and 71st minutes of the match at Molineux. A three-person commission has since found Wolves to be in breach of Rule E21, which states a club "must ensure that spectators and/or its supporters (and anyone purporting to be its supporters or followers) conduct themselves in an orderly fashion whilst attending any Match"

[It Is What It Is]

How can a club be responsible for what fans shout?
The only way to police it as I see it is to have permanent cameras focused on the crowds, any racist chants etc and police can be handed the video.
The guilty should pay, not the club.

[Vegas Claret]

How can a club be responsible for what fans shout?
The only way to police it as I see it is to have permanent cameras focused on the crowds, any racist chants etc and police can be handed the video.
The guilty should pay, not the club.

it doesn't matter (I tend to agree with you), the precedent has been set and it's a hefty fine.

[Shaggy]

Here we go over the slippery slope.

[evensteadiereddie]

Ooer, missus.

To be fair, it's a start.
Perhaps Wolves and future miscreant clubs may be encouraged to be a bit more proactive in finding and banning these fools.

[bobinho]

How on earth are Wolves (or any other club) supposed to prevent their fans from chanting this?

Utterly bizarre.

[KellyClaret]

How on earth are Wolves (or any other club) supposed to prevent their fans from chanting this?

Utterly bizarre.

Surely by attempting to identify the culpits and banning them from attending. Doesn't seem too much of a stretch to be able to do this does it?

[ClaretTony]

Good - some of the chanting at football matches is now totally unacceptable and that includes some of the tragedy chanting at such as Leeds, Liverpool and Man U.

[Vegas Claret]

Good - some of the chanting at football matches is now totally unacceptable and that includes some of the tragedy chanting at such as Leeds, Liverpool and Man U.

this, it's like people think it's fine and acceptable to leave their human decency at the turnstile and collect it on the way out

[Claret53]

The fines are entirely appropriate. Clubs cannot just shrug their shoulders and blame the crass fans involved. They are responsible as the occupiers of the ground and have a responsibility as such.
It might eventually penetrate the skulls of the miscreants that they are actually damaging the clubs with they claim to support. Coming down hard on things such as monkey noises appears to have worked, thank heavens. So it's a policy which has an effect. In any event, why should decent fans have to sit and suffer whilst a small minority vent their prejudices in an offensive and upsetting way?

[Granny WeatherWax]

Excellent news.

Please can the FA bring in fines for vile Jack Walker songs too.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

How can a club be responsible for what fans shout?
The only way to police it as I see it is to have permanent cameras focused on the crowds, any racist chants etc and police can be handed the video.
The guilty should pay, not the club.

It's happening within club property
It's their duty to ensure the behaviour of the fans and they failed.

It can be policed using Tech etc but then you'll get fans whinging about being policed and the atmosphere being ruined etc.

It would probably also require the club to ensure that the person using the ticket is the person who's purchased it and they haven't lent it to someone else.

[Juan Tanamera]

How on earth are Wolves (or any other club) supposed to prevent their fans from chanting this?

Utterly bizarre.

It's ridiculous isn't it?
Maybe every supporter should be made to take a vow as they pass through the turnstile.

[bobinho]

Surely by attempting to identify the culpits and banning them from attending. Doesn't seem too much of a stretch to be able to do this does it?

No. It doesn’t. But that’s shutting the gate AFTER the horse has bolted isn’t it? How does punishing an individual AFTER he’s committed an offence like this prevent it? They charged Wolves with failing to prevent it.
It might act as a deterrent going forward, but to punish the club? It’s easy for the FA to make it look like they are taking a stand, but it’s not the clubs fault whatsoever. It’s poor.

[daveisaclaret]

It's ridiculous isn't it?
Maybe every supporter should be made to take a vow as they pass through the turnstile.

You sign up to terms and conditions saying you can't do this every time you buy a ticket from Burnley FC.

[Shaggy]

What’s next? They ban the referees a ******?

[bobinho]

You sign up to terms and conditions saying you can't do this every time you buy a ticket from Burnley FC.

Well then, the club have done as much as they can in asking those purchasing tickets to behave in a responsible and respectful manner whilst in and around the ground. What else can they realistically do?

And I agree some of the chanting is shocking and unacceptable and it should be dealt with absolutely - but I expect the guilty to be punished for it. I don’t expect the authorities to take the easiest option when ‘showing’ they are dealing with an issue. It’s virtue signalling. If this was Burnley FC being fined, I’d be bloody annoyed.

[kentonclaret]

be careful what you chant - precedent set






"Wolverhampton Wanderers admitted that they failed to ensure their spectators and/or supporters – and anyone purporting to be their supporters or followers – conduct themselves in an orderly fashion, and do not use words or otherwise behave in a way which is improper, offensive, abusive, indecent, or insulting with either express or implied reference to sexual orientation."

Given those are the parameters then every football club in the country could be fined just for the chanting aimed towards the referees and match officials at almost every game.

[Lancasterclaret]

Its 2023

If you are still chanting stuff like this then that is almost certainly the least of your problems

[Belial]

Its 2023

If you are still chanting stuff like this then that is almost certainly the least of your problems

Trouble is, it's easy to for these 'lads' to do when they're in their bubble with their mates, full of beer and beak. They'd get lamped left right and centre outside of their safe place amongst it all if they acted like, or said what they do.

It's good something is being done, even if it's indirect (agree with the comments above about the club being given the penalty rather than the individuals)

[groove]

I've got mixed feelings about this. I don't take part in any such chants, I find them immature and distasteful. But I don't feel offended by them either. They're just silly chants at a football match. They aren't to be taken literally and don't really mean anything. I didn't get offended when Blackburn fans sang songs insinuating I had incestuous relationships. I'm pretty sure the Chelsea fans weren't really offended by the rent boy chants. The only reason I can think of, is its problematic for the broadcasters, who feel duty bound to apologise to viewers every time a swear word is audible at a live game. Its all about how the product is affected. I don't particularly like how football is being weaponized by the virtue Gods.

[Lancasterclaret]

I've got mixed feelings about this. I don't take part in any such chants, I find them immature and distasteful. But I don't feel offended by them either. They're just silly chants at a football match. They aren't to be taken literally and don't really mean anything. I didn't get offended when Blackburn fans sang songs insinuating I had incestuous relationships. I'm pretty sure the Chelsea fans weren't really offended by the rent boy chants. The only reason I can think of, is its problematic for the broadcasters, who feel duty bound to apologise to viewers every time a swear word is audible at a live game. Its all about how the product is affected. I don't particularly like how football is being weaponized by the virtue Gods.

Just checking here, how is football being "weaponised by the virtue gods" because it wants to ban homophobic chants?

[groove]

Just checking here, how is football being "weaponised by the virtue gods" because it wants to ban homophobic chants?

Not just that in particular. I'm more thinking of the BLM kneeling, Rainbow laces, the box ticking on most football broadcasts with female pundits and commentators etc. It'll be climate change next.

[Lancasterclaret]

Not just that in particular. I'm more thinking of the BLM kneeling, Rainbow laces, the box ticking on most football broadcasts with female pundits and commentators etc. It'll be climate change next.

Uh huh

Times do change and its for the better

[Juan Tanamera]

You sign up to terms and conditions saying you can't do this every time you buy a ticket from Burnley FC.

Maybe so, but how on earth can a club be blamed for a small portion of a crowd singing this sort of thing?
They can hardly flick an on/off switch can they?

[ClaretTony]

Maybe so, but how on earth can a club be blamed for a small portion of a crowd singing this sort of thing?
They can hardly flick an on/off switch can they?

It's not blaming them but investigating how much effort a club has made to eradicate the problem. Some clubs sadly are doing very little.

[BurnleyFC]

I’m in the ridiculous camp with this one.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

I've got mixed feelings about this. I don't take part in any such chants, I find them immature and distasteful. But I don't feel offended by them either. They're just silly chants at a football match. They aren't to be taken literally and don't really mean anything. I didn't get offended when Blackburn fans sang songs insinuating I had incestuous relationships. I'm pretty sure the Chelsea fans weren't really offended by the rent boy chants. The only reason I can think of, is its problematic for the broadcasters, who feel duty bound to apologise to viewers every time a swear word is audible at a live game. Its all about how the product is affected. I don't particularly like how football is being weaponized by the virtue Gods.

Saying eff off when a decision goes against the club is very different to homophobic chanting

One is acceptable, the other isn’t

[Spiral]

When the FA hands down these fines they know full well that it has the effect of making fans sort themselves out. After the grumbling about fairness has blown over, nobody wants to be seen among their fellow supporters as being the one, or of a group, to bring pecuniary harm to the club they support, so you get scenarios like this playing out in the stands:

Fan 1: *homophobic chant*
Fan 2: "come on mate, don't be singing that, we'll get fined"
Fan 1: "fk off, sing what I want mate"
Fan 2: "no, you fk off, pack it in or..."
(argument ensues)

Everyone in the vicinity hears that exchange. Next time someone thinks of being hilarious by starting a rent boy chant, they might think to themselves, "you know what, game's not worth the candle, I'll keep shtum about that", and lo and behold, no homophobic chant from them.

Also, for those who aren't offended by it, I understand where you're coming from, but the point is not whether you're offended, or even the opposition fans. There's the fact that there's almost certainly some gay bloke, possibly a gay teenager just learning about himself, who just wants to sit there and watch his team, and he's sat in the ground thinking "oh great, I'm the object of derision, even among fellow supporters, how nice". And even if you aren't gay, you still don't want to be a part of that environment. I know I don't.

"You wouldn't have survived in the 80's", "game's gone soft" type comments can just fk right off. Any shite about working class people doing working class things can, too, because bigots don't get to attribute scummy behaviour to the fact of being working class — that's insulting to other working class people who don't have time for those sort of daft, primitive ideas.

[Shaggy]

This is the wrong time of year for snowflakes.

[tarkys_ears]

100 grand

That'll really sting

[Spike]

Excellent news.

Please can the FA bring in fines for vile Jack Walker songs too.

Why on earth would you want your own club fined?

[Spiral]

100 grand

That'll really sting

Don't sanctions usually increase in severity upon repeated rule breaches? Granted I'm speculating here, if it's anything like the sanctions UEFA/FIFA hand down against large scale racist chanting, the first sanction is usually offensively paltry, the next a bit more severe, then it eventually escalates to sections of grounds being closed off. I don't know if there's a protocol distinction between racist chanting and homophobic chanting (I don't see why there should be), but one would imagine the second punishment more severe than the first. That's the principle, anyway.

[fidelcastro]

Why on earth would you want your own club fined?

Because it might make dickheads think twice before singing it.