FA publishes its written reasons for Gary Madine's ban and Blackpool's misconduct charge following Burnley game

Blackpool were charged with misconduct following the Lancashire derby against Burnley on August 20.

Both sets of players were involved in a melee following the flare-up between Sonny Carey and Ian Maatsen, which led to both being sent off.

In another Lancashire derby, meanwhile, Gary Madine was found to have stamped on Blackburn Rovers’ Lewis Travis during the televised clash at Bloomfield Road on August 31.

The incident wasn’t spotted by the officials at the time but the striker was later charged and hit with a three-game ban after a clip was brought to the FA’s incident.

The FA has now released its written reasons for the charges – and here’s what they include:

Charge of misconduct following Burnley game

An independent regulatory commission sat on September 2 to discuss Blackpool’s charge of misconduct. Sitting on the commission was chairperson Bradley Pritchard, Martin Allen and Dennis Strudwick.

While Burnley were also hit with a charge, Blackpool were considered a “non-standard” case as they’ve previously breached the misconduct laws twice in the last five years, namely a game against rivals Preston North End in 2021 and Fleetwood Town in 2018.

Blackpool, who admitted the charge, submitted evidence via secretary Nick Horne. Further evidence was also provided by referee Keith Stroud as well as video clips.

Stroud stated in his report: “Following the incidents that led to two red cards, a number of players from both teams engaged in a confrontation.

“Apart from the two clear recognised red card incidents, no other discipline was spotted. I have highlighted this for FA review of the confrontation.”

After reviewing the footage, the FA found: “The intensity with which Blackpool players behaved, three in particular, appeared aggressive and inflammatory. These players, in the eyes of the commission, had a causative effect on the escalation of the confrontation.

“The commission also noted that this behaviour further increased, unnecessarily, the burden on the referee to maintain order.

“The behaviour described above had an impact on the duration of the confrontation, which the commission believed had been protracted.”

As a result, the commission imposed a fine of £10,000, double that of Burnley’s fine, although the decision is subject to appeal.

Gary Madine’s charge of violent conduct

An independent regulatory commission comprising of chairman Udo Onwere, Francis Benali and Gary Mabbutt, who are all independent members of the FA’s judicial panel, also met on September 2 to consider this incident.

The day after the game, match referee Matthew Donohoue sent an email to The FA where he wrote: “I can confirm that the attached clip is the incident in question and I can confirm that no match official saw the incident.”

The report states: “On September 1, as per the FA regulations, a video clip of the alleged incident was sent by The FA to former referees Alan Wiley, Eddie Wolstenholme and Steve Dunn who were asked to view the video and to comment on what action, if any, they believed would have been warranted by the referee.

“All three confirmed that a dismissal would have been the appropriate action had the incident been seen by the referee.”

The FA then charged Madine with misconduct, alleging that his behaviour in or around the 45th minute constituted violent conduct.

In its findings, the FA relied on evidence from the referee, a video clip of the incident and email correspondence between the FA and the PGMOL’s senior referee coaches Wiley, Wolstenholme and Dunn.

Madine and Blackpool replied on the same day to deny the charge. Attached to Madine’s reply form was a letter from the club’s secretary Nick Horne, setting out the club’s position on the incident.

The FA found: “From the footage provided by The FA, all three commission members

felt that they could comfortably say that GM (Gary Madine) deliberately stood on his opponent following their coming together and this was an action that was clearly avoidable.

“As such, it was unanimously agreed by the panel that this challenge by GM constituted violent conduct.

“The commission considered GM’s actions to be a ‘serious missed incident’ of violent conduct and as such found the charge against GM proven.

“The automatic penalty that applies in this case is a three-match suspension. This decision is not subject to an appeal in accordance with the FA’s rules and regulations.”

Madine missed the games against Huddersfield Town, Rotherham United and Millwall as a result. But he’s now available for Blackpool’s following fixture against Norwich City after the international break.