Chelsea have been fined £40,000 for surrounding referee John Brooks during December’s defeat to Ipswich Town.
The club admitted it “failed to ensure that its players did not behave in an improper manner” following their reaction to Brooks’ decision to award the hosts a first-half penalty at Portman Road after goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen was judged to have tripped Liam Delap.
Several Chelsea players — including Cole Palmer, Tosin Adarabioyo, Marc Cucurella, Moises Caicedo and Jorgensen — surrounded the referee to contest the call. The decision was upheld by video assistant referee (VAR) Michael Oliver and Delap scored the resulting spot-kick to open the scoring.
A Premier League statement explaining the decision said the VAR had “deemed there was sufficient contact for a penalty.”
Chelsea were charged by the Football Association (FA) on January 3 and have now had their sanction imposed by an independent regulatory commission.
— FA Spokesperson (@FAspokesperson) January 21, 2025
Delap’s penalty gave Ipswich a 1-0 lead at Portman Road, before former Chelsea winger Omari Hutchinson added a second after the break as the hosts secured a 2-0 win, inflicting a second successive loss on Enzo Maresca’s side during a difficult run of form over the festive period.
Chelsea moved up to fourth in the Premier League following Monday’s win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, ending a five-game winless run in the division.
Maresca’s side return to action against Manchester City on Saturday.
(Michael Regan/Getty Images)
