By Andrew Warshaw
June 21 – The English Football Association (FA) has been fined a token €5,000 (£4,000/$6,000) by UEFA for the “inappropriate conduct” of a small group of fans in Friday’s (June 15) European Championship win over Sweden.
The fine was for an attempted pitch invasion during the 3-2 Group D victory in Kiev.
The FA has decided not to contest the fine, given UEFA’s clear belief the incident was not serious.
“We accept the sanction and consider the matter closed,” a statement read.
After England’s second and third goals, from Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck, between 20 and 30 fans surged forward towards the barriers but no-one actually got on to the pitch.
The FA had presented video evidence and strong mitigating circumstances in their defence at a UEFA hearing, saying the incident was simply exuberance rather than a deliberate plan to get onto the pitch.
The incident was so minor the UEFA match delegate is not thought to have even mentioned it in his report of the game.
The FA pointed out that there have not been any arrests of England fans in Poland or Ukraine this summer in contrast with those of some nations.
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