FA hit Everton with huge fine for pitch invasions last season

Everton have been fined £300,000 for the two pitch invasions at Goodison Park last season in the penultimate game of the campaign as the Blues came from behind to beat Crystal Palace 3-2 to secure Premier League survival.

The charges against the club came about after fans ran onto the pitch first when Dominic Calvert-Lewin headed home the 85th-minute winner and then again en masse after the final whistle.

Per the statement released by the game’s governing body in the United Kingdom the FA, the Everton fans have been accused of “threatening and violent behaviour”. The Palace players and coaching staff found their access to the tunnel cut off during the invasions with manager Patrick Vieira threatening to take his players off after the first invasion. Videos were later released of an altercation between a fan and Vieira, but after an investigation by the Merseyside Police no charges were filed.

There has been an increase in the number of pitch invasions in recent years, with Manchester City and Nottingham Forest also accused of similar disorder. No fines have been levied on those two clubs as yet, with goalposts torn down by the former and even a player attacked in the latter situation.

Ahead of the commencement of this season the Premier League announced that fans coming onto the playing surface would be banned from attending games for a minimum of at least a year, and face possible criminal charges as well.

It was no surprise that the league cracked down hard on Everton, what remains to be seen though is if the FA will be consistent with their punishments, something we have not seen parity in over the last couple of seasons especially.