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The FA have now given their verdict after the unsavoury scenes that followed Tottenham’s FA Cup exit against Aston Villa on Sunday.
There was a mass brawl at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium following Villa’s 2-1 win, with both sets of players and staff getting into a confrontation.
The incident was instigated as a result of Joao Palhinha taking issue with the way Ollie Watkins taunted him as the Villa forward attempted to celebrate the win in front of the away fans.
There was the risk that the FA would intervene following the incident, and that has now happened.
Both Tottenham and Aston Villa hit with FA charge
The FA have now charged both teams with misconduct for the scenes after the final whistle.
They accused both clubs of having “failed to ensure their players and/or officials did not behave in an improper and/or provocative way after the final whistle”.
English football’s governing body has given Tottenham Hotspur and Villa until Friday, January 16, to respond to the charge.
Thomas Frank says Ollie Watkins was ‘provoking’ against Spurs
The Tottenham head coach conceded that his players could have kept cooler heads, but he felt that it was Watkins who was the instigator.
The Dane suggested that the Villa striker purposely decided to celebrate in front of Palhinha instead of walking around the Spurs midfielder.
Reacting to the incident, Frank said (via ESPN): “Of course, it is all about keeping a cool head. The players gave everything out there, losing a tight game, the season is not going perfectly, and I think Ollie is very provoking in the way he’s going down to celebrate in front of the Villa fans.
“He is just walking into Joao and he could just easily walk around. Everyone who has been of a competitive nature, it is difficult, that can trigger things.”
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