Chelsea are fined £20,000

THE FA have fined Chelsea £20,000 after admitting a charge of “failing to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion” in last week’s Barclays Premier League match against QPR.

The fine was imposed after Chelsea players surrounded referee Chris Foy following Jose Bosingwa’s red card at Loftus Road. The FA also asked Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas to explain his post-match comments to the media about Foy and the assistant referees.

Meanwhile, Chelsea Pitch Owners chairman Richard King confirmed his resignation from the board yesterday, 24 hours after Roman Abramovich’s bid to purchase the Stamford Bridge freehold ended in failure.

King concluded Thursday’s stormy extraordinary general meeting of CPO, during which Abramovich’s proposal was defeated, by announcing he would make a statement about his future yesterday.

That was widely interpreted as a hint he planned to stand down, which he did yesterday after eight years as chairman of the company set up by the club in the 1990s to prevent them being made homeless by property developers.