Following the fines imposed on Bristol City and Millwall, the FA should begin directly fining players and staff involved in brawls in order to dissuade others from getting involved in fights on and off the pitch.
Keith Hackett, former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, told Football Insider exclusively that the governing body should take a harder approach against individuals implicated and levy fines from their earnings.
Bristol City and Millwall met at Ashton Gate on December 6, with both teams looking for three points to help their respective Championship promotion campaigns.
The hosts dominated possession and had the most expected goals, but they were defeated 1-0 when Wolves and Leicester-linked forward Mihailo Ivanovic scored just before the hour mark.
City’s dissatisfaction at losing led to a seemingly benign altercation between the two managers, Gerhard Struber and Alex Neil, right after the final whistle, which quickly escalated into a massive melee involving players and staff from both sides.
Bristol City and Millwall have been punished for their post-match clash.
Former PGMOL boss Hackett told Football Insider at the time of the incident that Bristol City and Millwall would be fined for the unpleasant post-match scenes, and the FA has now made a decision.
They have imposed sanctions on both clubs as well as individual individuals involved, with those charged having until January 5, 2026 to respond and present their cases.
Each side was accused of “allegedly failing to ensure that their players and/or technical area staff did not behave in an improper and/or provocative and/or violent way after the match.”
The FA has not issued any suspensions, which will come as a comfort to City and Millwall as they continue to compete for a berth in the second-tier top six.
Hackett encourages the FA to immediately fine players and staff involved as a deterrent to brawling.
Joe Williams, Harry Cornick, Ross McCrorie, Joel Coleman, and Dave Livermore have all been prosecuted in connection with the event, however it is unclear whether their individual teams will require them to pay fines out of their own pockets.
Following the charges, Hackett spoke exclusively with Football Insider, urging the FA to develop new laws around such occurrences to ensure that offending individuals are directly affected, making post-match brawls a thing of the past.
He stated, “The Football Association must set an example to end the tendency of post-match clashes at the final whistle.
“When the clubs are fined a substantial amount of money, perhaps they should make the players and technical staff involved in this unsavoury incident pay the fine out of their earnings.”
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