Millwall fined £45,000 by FA for disability chanting in Crystal Palace tie

Millwall were sanctioned in October 2023 following abuse with “express or implied reference to religion” towards James McClean while he was playing for Wigan.

They were then fined £15,000 in June last year for homophobic chants aimed at Crystal Palace left-back Ben Chilwell during their FA Cup tie in March 2025.

Both times they had an action plan imposed with the aim of ensuring incidents did not occur again and making it a more inclusive club.

The written reasons provided by the FA acknowledged that Millwall’s previous disciplinary record is “very poor and a matter for serious concern”.

The game with Millwall’s Premier League south London rivals was described as “high-risk” by the club, however the commission found not all steps had been taken on the day to comply with their action plan.

The chanting in the 11th minute of the game at Selhurst Park was described as “substantial” although no supporters have been identified as being involved, and as such sanctioned, since.

The FA called for a partial or full stadium closure because of the rule breach for a third time.

It said anything less “would fail to adequately address the seriousness of the club’s repeated breaches of FA Rule E 21 or serve as a sufficient deterrent in respect of discriminatory behaviour by supporters/spectators”.

Yet the committee acknowledged that Millwall had taken steps to meet its action plan.

“We consider that the extant action plan has worked to a considerable extent and the cause of seeking to remove, in so far as it is possible to do so, discriminatory chanting is best served by it being further refined and extended in duration as opposed to,” the commission said.