West Ham United and Nottingham Forest have both been charged by the Football Association for failing to ensure their players behaved appropriately during a mass confrontation in their recent Premier League fixture.
The incident occurred in added time at the end of the match, which took place at the London Stadium on Sunday, May 18. The FA alleges that both clubs did not take sufficient steps to prevent their players from acting in an “improper and/or provocative way” around the 103rd minute, during a lengthy period of stoppage time that saw the game extend to nearly 113 minutes.
A brief FA statement confirmed: “West Ham United and Nottingham Forest have been charged in relation to the mass confrontation at their Premier League game on Sunday, May 18. It’s alleged that both clubs failed to ensure their players didn’t behave in an improper and/or provocative way around the 103rd minute. West Ham United and Nottingham Forest have to provide their responses by Friday, May 23.”
The match itself was a tense affair, with Nottingham Forest securing a 2-1 victory to keep their Champions League qualification hopes alive. The late stages were marred by the confrontation, which saw yellow cards shown to West Ham’s Edson Alvarez and Carlos Soler, as well as Forest’s Murillo and Morato.
Referee Sam Barrott faced criticism for his handling of the game, as several contentious decisions and a lengthy VAR review for an offside goal contributed to the frustration of both teams and supporters. However, the FA’s charges are directed solely at the clubs for failing to control their players.
Neither club had issued a response to the charges at the time of reporting. West Ham’s defeat marked the end of a difficult domestic campaign, while Forest now look ahead to a crucial final fixture against Chelsea as they seek to secure European football for next season.