Bristol City and Millwall players must ‘pay fines out of their wages’ after brawl update – PGMOL expert
The FA need to start directly fining players and staff who are involved in bust-ups to deter others from getting involved in clashes on and off the pitch following fines issued to Bristol City and Millwall.
That is according to former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, Keith Hackett, who exclusively told Football Insider that the governing body need to take a harsher stance with those involved and make them pay fines out of their wages.
Bristol City and Millwall met at Ashton Gate on 6 December with both sides vying for three points to aid their respective Championship promotion pushes.
The hosts dominated possession and came out on top on expected goals, but were defeated 1-0 as Wolves and Leicester-linked striker Mihailo Ivanovic struck the winner just before the hour mark.
City’s frustration at losing meant that a seemingly innocuous incident between the two managers, Gerhard Struber and Alex Neil, immediately after the final whistle, soon turned into a huge brawl with players and staff involved on both sides.
Bristol City and Millwall have now been fined for post-match clash
Former PGMOL chief Hackett told Football Insider at the time of the incident that Bristol City and Millwall were set to be fined for the ugly post-match scenes, and a decision has now been reached by the FA.
They have incurred fines on both clubs, as well as individual players who were involved, with those charged having until 5 January 2026 to respond and plead their cases.
Both teams have been charged with “allegedly failing to ensure that their players and/or technical area staff did not behave in an improper and/or provocative and/or violent way after the match.”
No suspensions have been handed out by the FA, which will come as a relief to City and Millwall as they each continue to chase a spot in the second-tier’s top six.
Hackett urges FA to directly fine players and staff involved as a deterrent for brawling
The likes of Joe Williams, Harry Cornick, Ross McCrorie, Joel Coleman and Dave Livermore have all been charged for the incident, but it remains to be seen whether they will be forced to pay fines out of their own pockets by their respective clubs.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider following the charges, Hackett urged the FA to devise new rules around such incidents to ensure that offending participants are directly affected, so that post-match brawls become a thing of the past.
He said: “The Football Association need to set an example to stop this trend of post match confrontations at the final whistle.
“When the clubs are fined a substantial amount of money, perhaps they should make the players and technical staff involved in this unsavoury incident pay the fine out of their earnings.“