Aston Villa consider appeal over £200,000 fine for FA Cup pitch invasions during win over West Brom

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Aston Villa are considering an appeal against a hefty £200,000 Football Association fine for the pitch invasion at Villa Park after their FA Cup quarter-final win against West Bromwich Albion on 7 March.

The FA believes the fine reflects the seriousness of the incident in which some West Brom players were targeted by Villa fans, and it also takes into consideration the club’s income and the current broadcast deal.

The previous sizeable fine for a pitch invasion was the £115,000 levied against West Ham for crowd trouble during a Carling Cup tie against Millwall in 2009.

Villa admitted the charge of “spectator misconduct” for the episode, when seats were thrown into the away end and there were pitch invasions in injury time of the 2-0 win, and then again at full-time.

As with all clubs, Villa, who will face Arsenal in the FA Cup final on 30 May, were responsible for making suitable preparations for the game, in this case a west Midlands derby.

The punishment was set by an independent regulatory commission and as such there will be a written judgement to accompany the verdict. Only then will Villa be able to decide whether they can appeal against the sanction.

Villa were also “severely warned” by the commission as to their future conduct.