Millwall has been charged by the Football Association for three reported incidents of religiously offensive abuse directed towards Republic of Ireland player James McClean during their Sky Bet Championship match against Wigan in April.
McClean, who recently achieved his 100th cap for Ireland, has faced previous abuse due to his stance on symbolic symbols like the poppy. This latest incident occurred during Wigan's 2-1 victory over Millwall on April 22 at DW Stadium.
In a statement, the FA claimed that the club "failed to ensure fans acted in good faith during the game." The statement elaborated, "Millwall FC has been charged with three breaches of misconduct in relation to crowd control for incidents that took place during its EFL Championship game against Wigan Athletic FC on Saturday, April 22, 2023.
"It's alleged that the club failed to ensure its spectators and/or supporters, and anyone purporting to be its supporters or followers, conduct themselves in an orderly fashion at the game and do not use words or behave in a way which is improper, offensive, abusive, indecent, or insulting, with either express or implied reference to religion, in the 8th, 12th, and 45th minutes."
Club statement.#Millwall
— Millwall FC (@MillwallFC) June 23, 2023
Responding to the charges, Millwall issued a statement on their website. It read, "Millwall Football Club notes The Football Association's decision to charge the club with breaches of rule E21 following the Championship fixture away to Wigan Athletic on Saturday, April 22, 2023. Through the work of its industry-leading Equality Steering Committee, the club takes a proactive approach to combating discrimination and continues to work tirelessly on a wide range of initiatives and measures to drive positive change."
The statement emphasized the club's strong condemnation of all forms of discrimination and reaffirmed their zero-tolerance policy against such abuse. Millwall mentioned that they are formulating a comprehensive response to the charges, which will be submitted to the FA in due course.
"The club strongly condemns discrimination of all kinds and has a zero-tolerance policy against such abuse," added the club.
The FA has granted Millwall until the end of June to provide their responses. "Millwall FC has until Friday, June 30, 2023, to provide its responses," added the FA.
