Stoke City have been hit with a £24,000 fine after a second breach of FA regulations in the 2023/24 season
Nevertheless, the matter was brought before an impartial panel, which convened to deliberate on the fine—which would have reached £100,000 considering that Stoke was held accountable for a “non-standard” violation for their involvement in the altercation. It was decided that Argyle’s actions constituted a “standard” violation, punishable by £5,000 in fines.
Stoke’s Million Manhoef and Argyle custodian Michael Cooper collided to start the altercation, which resulted in bookings for Cooper and Bali Mumba for the visitors and Tyrese Campbell and Ki-Jana Hoever for the hosts.
The commission heavily criticised Hoever’s actions, saying that the full back ran “from almost the halfway line to deliver a forceful two-handed shove to an opponent which inflamed the confrontation even further.” The FA relied on referee Robert Madley’s report and video clips of the incident. It was completely unnecessary and acted with senseless aggression.
The Commission also pointed out that this was Stoke’s second such occurrence of the season, after the game against Southampton in October 2023, for which the Potters were fined £12,000. Stoke had five previous infractions in the previous five campaigns. The “utterly dreadful record that SCFC have for offences of this type” is described in the verdict.
The argument that the match’s significance as a relegation battle and Steven Schumacher’s prior position as Plymouth’s head coach provided mitigation was also rejected. In fact, the commission believed that this was an aggravating factor because it put additional pressure on the Potters to prevent such an incident.
The admission of the Charge is the sole true mitigation in this case, the judge stated. In our opinion, a financial penalty of £36,000 would be a suitable place to start. In the case of SCFC, we lower that to £24,000 in order to account for their admission and to arrive at what we all agree is a reasonable and just punishment. Stoke is entitled to file an appeal.
