Millwall Football Club has been fined £15,000 following homophobic chants directed at Crystal Palace left-back Ben Chilwell during their FA Cup fifth-round tie in March. The Championship club admitted the charges before an independent regulatory commission disciplinary hearing. As a result, an extended anti-discriminatory action plan has been imposed on Millwall, effective until the end of the 2025-26 season.

FA Statement

A Football Association (FA) statement highlighted that Millwall "failed to ensure its spectators and/or supporters (and anyone purporting to be supporters) conduct themselves in an orderly fashion and don't use words or behave in an improper, offensive, abusive, indecent, or insulting way with either express or implied reference to sexual orientation."

Match Details

Crystal Palace emerged victorious in the match, defeating their south-east London rivals Millwall 3-1 at Selhurst Park. The homophobic chants occurred during the fifth and 20th minutes of the game. Ben Chilwell, who was on loan at Palace from Chelsea during the second half of last season, was involved in key moments of play around these times.

Disciplinary Actions

The regulatory commission determined that a "sufficient" number of individuals were involved in the chanting, although none have been identified or faced individual actions. This incident was considered a second offence by the commission, following a previous action plan imposed on Millwall in December 2023 for discriminatory chants by supporters.

Previous Measures

Despite the recent incident, the commission acknowledged that the previous action plan had been largely effective. "Since the 2023 action plan was imposed, the club has experienced no discriminatory chanting at home fixtures—save for the [Crystal Palace] match. The same can be said about the club's away fixtures," the commission's written reasons added.

Millwall's Response

Millwall released a statement reaffirming its zero-tolerance policy towards all forms of discrimination. "The club will continue to do all it can to proactively tackle discriminatory abuse. Such behaviour has no place in society and is entirely at odds with the values Millwall stands for," the statement read.

Related Topics

This incident has brought attention to ongoing issues of discrimination in football, with related topics including Millwall, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, the Championship, and broader discussions on football and inclusivity.