Millwall fined £15k for homophobic Chilwell chants

Ben Chilwell was on loan at Crystal Palace last season from Chelsea

Millwall have been fined £15,000 for homophobic chants aimed at Crystal Palace left-back Ben Chilwell during their FA Cup tie in March.

The Championship club, who admitted the charges before an independent regulatory commission disciplinary hearing, have also had an extended anti-discriminatory action plan imposed on them until the end of the 2025-26 season.

A Football Association statement said Millwall "failed to ensure its spectators and/or supporters (and anyone purporting to be supporters) conduct themselves in an orderly fashion and don't use words or behave in an improper, offensive, abusive, indecent, or insulting way with either express or implied reference to sexual orientation."

Palace beat south-east London rivals Millwall 3-1 in the FA Cup fifth round match at Selhurst Park.

Millwall said in a statement that, through its action plan, the club will "continue to do all it can to proactively tackle discriminatory abuse".

"The club reaffirms its zero-tolerance policy towards all forms of discrimination - such behaviour has no place in society and is entirely at odds with the values Millwall stands for," the statement said.

The Lions were charged in April by the FA for chants in the fifth and 20th minutes of the match.

Former England full-back Chilwell, on loan at Palace from Chelsea for the second half of last season, was involved in passages of play around the times of both incidents.

A "sufficient" number of individuals were said to be involved in the chanting, the regulatory commission determined, although none have been identified nor had action taken against them.

The commission considered this incident a second offence when deciding Millwall's sanction for the offence, after the club was also handed an action plan in December 2023 for discriminatory chants by supporters.

However, the commission acknowledged the previous action plan had in large part been "very effective" at achieving the purpose for which it was imposed.

"Since the 2023 action plan was imposed the club has experienced no discriminatory chanting at home fixtures - save for the [Crystal Palace] match, the same can be said about the club's away fixtures," the commission's written reasons added.