Posted on 21st November 2008
The 2020-21 season in tiers three to six of the women’s game has been curtailed, the FA’s women’s football board announced yesterday.
Posted on 21st November 2008
This is a story from the FSF archive – the FSF and SD merged to become the FSA in 2019.
Chelsea forward Didier Drogba has been banned for three matches for throwing a coin at Burnley supporters. The incident took place during Chelsea’s shock League Cup defeat to Burnley on penalties last week. The 30-year-old pleaded guilty to a charge of violent conduct.
A coin was thrown from the Burnley end at Drogba and the Ivory Coast forward retaliated by launching the missile back into the away end.
The referee missed the controversial incident, although Drogba was booked for over-zealous celebration, but the Football Association has took action after reviewing video evidence. In 2002 Liverpool’s Jamie Carragher was sent off for a similar incident at Highbury.
The Chelsea forward will miss out on Premier League matches with Newcastle United, Arsenal and Bolton Wanderers adding to an already disappointing season which has seen him score just once and miss several weeks of the campaign with a knee injury.
The fan that through the coin has yet to be identified, although Burnley are working with Chelsea and the authorities to find the perpetrator, possibly through CCTV footage.
Malcolm Clarke, chair of the Football Supporters’ Federation, said: “Whilst Drogba’s actions can be in no way be condoned neither can the totally irresponsible behaviour of the person who threw the coin in the first place.
“Players and fans have to respect the rule of law and will not receive any support whatsoever from the FSF if they are caught throwing missiles onto the pitch. It’s rightly a criminal offence and could cause serious injury.”
The 2020-21 season in tiers three to six of the women’s game has been curtailed, the FA’s women’s football board announced yesterday.
Three-quarters (74.8%) of fans intend to return to stadiums from the first fixture in August, with two-thirds of supporters (65.2%) describing themselves as ‘excited’ and four in ten (41.7%) ‘optimistic’ about a return to grounds next season according to the results of an FSA survey.
Football Supporters Europe (FSE) are urging UEFA to reverse their decision to put a blanket ban on away fans at European competition this season – arguing instead for a case-by-case approach.
This year is an historic one for the women’s game, marking 100 years since the FA banned women’s football from its clubs’ stadiums in 1921. The ban was overturned in 1971 – meaning 2021 is also the 50th anniversary of the FA righting that wrong.