Chelsea fined £150,000 after accepting FA charge for water bottle thrown towards Aston Villa bench

Chelsea have been fined £150,000 after an unidentified member of the club’s staff threw a bottle towards Aston Villa‘s bench at the end of a Premier League match in December.

A plastic water bottle was thrown in the aftermath of Villa’s 2-1 comeback win at Stamford Bridge after two late Ollie Watkins goals sparked wild celebrations from the away team.

Chelsea accepted a Football Association misconduct charge for a breach of FA Rule E20.1 as they “failed to ensure its players and/or other relevant personnel around the technical area did not behave in an improper and/or provocative and/or abusive way after the final whistle”.

An independent FA regulatory commission imposed the fine on Chelsea following a hearing on 19 January.

The written reasons, external provided by the commission said the the FA were given footage of the bottle being thrown and that the “act was dangerous”, which could have “provoked a reaction” from Villa’s staff.

However, it was noted that following investigations “neither the FA nor Chelsea Football Club has been unable to identify the specific person responsible for throwing the bottle”.

The decision of the commission is subject to appeal in accordance with the FA’s rules and regulations.