Fans Agony: McKenna Ipswich Town officially” recieves FA brutal justice” after facing so much away brutality from defeeted rivals” the opponent has been fined by FA” here is the full incident details….
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.
At Ewood Park, an early goal by Conor Chaplin settled the game, and Rovers lost 1-0 to the Tractor Boys. But the most important story of the day wasn’t the score. According to an FA spokesman on June 21, Rovers were charged because of what their fans did when they lost to Kieran McKenna’s team.
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.
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.”
Regarding reading for Rovers within the previous 12 months. Traveling fans to Ewood are starting to notice a rising theme as Rovers will need to take additional measures to avoid paying any fines in the future for fan-related incidents and for their general management.
