Hull City fined £30,000 and ban three fans over Chelsea chants

Hull City have been fined £30,000 by the Football Association over discriminatory chanting during February's FA Cup defeat by Chelsea, with the club also confirming bans for three supporters. BBC Sport reported on Friday that Hull accepted the charge arising from the match at the MKM Stadium, which Chelsea won 4-0.

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The FA's charge concerned Hull's failure to prevent offensive or abusive conduct by spectators that referred, explicitly or implicitly, to sexual orientation. The Hull Story reported that the club admitted a breach of Rule E21 and was given a warning about future conduct and an action plan alongside the financial penalty.

The three supporters have been banned by Hull for at least three years. According to BBC Sport, spectators at the February match were repeatedly instructed to stop the chanting through public-address announcements and messages on stadium screens. The club has now renewed its warning before Saturday's Premier League visit to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Hull condemned the language used and said the chant was a homophobic slur whose use may constitute a hate crime. It warned that people taking part could face arrest and criminal charges. In its statement, carried by The Hull Story, Hull also pledged to continue working with the relevant authorities to address discriminatory behaviour.

The wider disciplinary framework has previously been welcomed by Chelsea. In a statement on the FA's decision to treat the chant as a breach of its rules, Chelsea said opposition clubs could face disciplinary action when their supporters used it. The club also outlined work with the FA, the Crown Prosecution Service, other clubs and LGBTQI+ supporter group Chelsea Pride through its anti-hate efforts.

Hull said it would maintain regular discussions with supporter groups to improve the matchday experience and called on fans to help make games welcoming. Its statement also set out a route for reporting discriminatory abuse: supporters can text HULL, followed by details of an incident and its location, to 60066, or report it through Kick It Out.