Bristol City and Millwall charged by FA after mass brawl at Championship match

Bristol City and Millwall have been charged by the Football Association (FA) for a mass brawl between players and coaching staff at the end of their Championship match at Ashton Gate this month.

Joe Williams, Harry Cornick, Ross McCrorie, Joel Coleman and Dave Livermore have also been charged individually for their roles in the incident.

Millwall won the match 1-0 with a goal from Mihailo Ivanovic in the 59th minute and the Robins were denied an added-time equaliser by an offside flag.

Lions boss Alex Neil and Robins head coach Gerhard Struber appeared not to shake hands after the match, with Bristol City skipper Jason Knight appearing to push Neil twice in the chest in an altercation which soon erupted into a larger melee.

The FA has charged both clubs, Robins players Williams, Cornick and McCrorie, as well as Millwall goalkeeper Coleman and assistant head coach Livermore for their roles in the brawl on Saturday, 6 December.

“Both clubs allegedly failed 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 finished,” an FA spokesperson said., external

Of the players charged, only McCrorie actually featured in the game, having come off the bench for Mark Sykes in the 64th minute.

Cornick was an unused substitute for the Robins, while Williams and Coleman did not feature in their clubs’ matchday squads.

The spokesperson said Cornick and McCrorie’s behaviour “wasn’t seen by the match officials, but it was caught on video and allegedly constitutes violent conduct”.

The clubs and players have until Monday, 5 January to respond to the charges.