Gillingham have been hit with a fine for their part in a mass confrontation against Colchester United.
Both clubs were fined £9,000 as the FA Regulatory Commission blamed manager Gareth Ainsworth and Colchester boss Danny Cowley for starting the brawl, which involved players and staff from both teams at the end of the League 2 match on December 29.
It was alleged that both clubs failed to ensure their players and/or technical area staff did not behave in an improper and/or provocative way after the final whistle. Both clubs admitted the charges against them.
The Gills didn’t request a personal hearing after admitting the charge but submitted statements from managing director Joe Comper, Ainsworth, head of performance James Russell and goalkeeper coach Deren Ibrahim.
With charges admitted, the commission reviewed the evidence and submissions purely in order to determine sanction.
It was noted that the mass confrontation started almost immediately at the final whistle and was “instigated solely by the coming together of the two managers.”
The report added: “There was no evidence to indicate that this event would have taken place but for the behaviour of the two managers.”
In mitigation, the Gills said that they had been provoked by Colchester staff during the match, but no evidence of this was forthcoming.
The commission disagreed with some of Gillingham’s submissions such as that: “At the end of the fixture the first team staff went into their office and played no further part in proceedings.”
The report stated: “What is clear from the footage is that members of the Gillingham staff remain on the pitch after the final whistle.
“In particular the manager, Gareth Ainsworth, having instigated the mass confrontation along with the Colchester manager, can be seen remaining on the pitch and continuing the confrontation with the Colchester manager on two separate occasions.”
They also disagreed with Colchester’s view that the incident was contained swiftly stating that: ‘The video evidence clearly shows that this was not the case.’
The commission stated that, in their view: “There were significant failings on the part of the clubs which stemmed from the actions of the managers and included significant number of players and staff from the clubs for a prolonged period.
“Those failings were violent, threatening and provocative.”
A five-second clip provided by the Gills served only to “underline the seriousness of the behaviour by both sides” in the commissions view.
The commission noted previous sanctions against the Gills following confrontations with Shrewsbury (in August 2021) and Crawley Town (in August 2023). The Gills were fined £5,000 and £3,000 following those events.
The maximum fine that could have been handed to the Gills was £10,000, only increasing for successive breaches in a 12-month period.
Aggravating factors were that the confrontation was instigated by the managers, the number of those involved, that it took place after the game, the length of time it continues and the repeated confrontation between Ainsworth and his opposite number Cowley.
The commission acknowledged that Gillingham admitted the offence and knocked £1,000 off the maximum fine.
Gillingham head to Harrogate Town this Saturday, where home boss Simon Weaver has also landed himself in trouble. He’ll be serving a touchline ban this weekend following a red card in their last game against Shrewsbury Town.
Elsewhere in League 2, former Gills boss Steve Evans, now in charge at Bristol Rovers, has been charged with misconduct by the FA after his sending off in a recent EFL Trophy fixture. He was dismissed after the final whistle.
