200k fine....

[DeKuip]

As somebody else commented, it will be interesting to see what happens to Blackpool after their match was abandoned.

They've been given a point, which for them is a bonus!

[old man villa fan]

Why are fans prohibited from going on to the pitch.  Firstly it is so as not to endanger the players and officials and secondly so as not to incite trouble with opposition supporters.  Whether it happens during the game or after the match has finished and before the players and officials have left the pitch, the risks are still the same.

Villa should wait until after the cup final, wait and see what happens to other clubs and appeal.  Has there been a precedent for a fine of this magnitude or a warning what the fine would be for something similar that did not cause harm to any players or officials or incite trouble.  It would appear as though the level of fine represents what could have happened, not what actually happened.

The appeal should be on the grounds of unreasonableness of the magnitude of the fine.  If the response from the FA is that the level of fine is because Aston Villa is a richer club than those further down the leagues, then could you not argue that Man Utd, Man City and Chelsea should all be fined more than, say, Aston Villa in the future.  You start treading on dangerous ground when fines are based on who you are and not on what the offense is.

I agree that as a club we should be fined relative to what actually happened but the thing that gets me is that it appears that nothing is being done about the Albion fans who caused criminal damage and risked serious injury by throwing seats.

[DeKuip]

This all gets even more ridiculous when you read that it's a record fine for crowd disturbances (previous highest £115k to West Ham, v Millwall in 2010). We are clearly also being blamed fully for the seat throwing by away fans.
Having pleaded guilty to the charge our wet blanket of a club have been walked all over and left no room for appeal, unless they can appeal the size of the fine.

Without taking away the enjoyment of watching and supporting our team at the cup final we have to backlash against this on the day, be it chants, banners, or giving Greg Dyke and FA dignitaries dogs abuse during the pre-game formalities (as Leeds did with the Football League's Malwhinney in their Wembley play-off final).
We get robbed with the ticket prices and size of the allocation and now this.

£80 or £110 for a kid's ticket to the final.
£200k for generating a bit of passion in the competition.
F*** all for throwing seats at women and children.
Priceless. Mugged.

[PeterWithesShin]

I really hope the club don't take this lying down. We've been royally screwed from word go on this.

[villan1975]

Manure most owe the FA millions for the amount of times their wanker fans have been on the VP pitch during a game over the last decade or so.

Still remember the toxic atmosphere they created at the Villa Park 3rd round 2002 tie and the complete media blackout. Wankers.

[Grande Pablo]

The size of the fine is totally linked to the level of hysteria generated by Pearce & Lawrenson.  Pearce didn't get a fact right all night & only starting stringing coherent sentences at the time of the first invasion.

Good job they didn't handle the 1966 World Cup Final. 

[Pete3206]

I can't help thinking that the whole thing was precipitated by the hysterical over egging from three chinned drama queen Jonathan Pearce and his pathetic, ignorant and utter fucking twat of a co-commentator.

[dave.woodhall]

I can't help thinking that the whole thing was precipitated by the hysterical over egging from three chinned drama queen Jonathan Pearce and his pathetic, ignorant and utter fucking twat of a co-commentator.

Without a doubt. That and the Stripeys being better at the media than we are.

[maidstonevillain]

I haven't  been to many games over the last 10 years.  4 or 5 a season, always travelling up with son since he was the age of about seven.  He always enjoyed his day out with dad, visiting Villa Park, and meeting family he would not otherwise meet. But with the tedium of the MON years, and the utter dross thereafter, he never really discovered why being a football fan in general, and a Villa fan in particular, was special. He found out during that game, and the events after the whistle were a large part. OK he was spoiled and had a repeat experience 3 weeks later, but it is always the first time you remember. I bet there were many other thousands in a similar position, and for that £200k seems a small price to pay.

OK doesn't entirely detract from the total hypocrisy of the FA, but I would like to think we are getting our back by robbing them of their StevieG dream final.

[Virgil Caine]

I assume the fine has been levied for a failure to have adequate stewarding and or policing at the ground, hence a culpability of a lack of protection to supporters who did not invade the pitch. I wonder if there has been a breach of Health and Safety regulations but in any case the FA have set a precedent and should ( but I doubt if they will) treat any other pitch invasions in the same way.
I think I could deal with the fine if it was paid to Acorns rather than improving the profit margin at the FA. I also hope that the various exuberant pitch invasions are not used to argue against safe standing - I suspect ,however ,that they will be.

[Damo70]

"It's health and safety gone mad Stew".

[Clampy]

At the end of it all I am more annoyed by the club than anything. It was stupid and wrong to apologise after the game. We should have fought the tribunal on the grounds of natural justice if nothing else - ad there is plenty of else. What is more we should appeal the decision and the fine with gusto. The FA is in no position to fight a muckrake fest. Neither is the BBC for that matter.

Absolutely. We apologise for our fans - the Stripeys "accept" the apology and never say a word about theirs. From then on the narrative was set; we were at fault and they were blameless. They run rings round us in the media and they have for years.

I think considering the amount of stick we got (from ignorant twats like Lawrenson and Mcnulty to name but two) and the fact that the game was stopped, we had to apologise in some form or another. We couldn't just sit back and say nothing, although bearing in mind the size of the fine, we might as well have done.

[LTA]

The defense from Albion fans is that the seat throwing was unpunished as it was provoked by the pitch invasion.........

[RussellC]

Although, I agree that the fine is probably a bit disproportionate, and that there should have been some kind of retribution for the seat-throwing too, I do quite like the fact that we came out and apologised immediately. It's a sign on class and integrity and is what separates us from them.

[SX150]

The defense from Albion fans is that the seat throwing was unpunished as it was provoked by the pitch invasion.........

They were throwing seats before the invasion.