Birmingham charged over Villa game

27 April 2010 19:13
irmingham have been hit with a disciplinary charge by the FA following the angry scenes at their 1-0 derby defeat by Aston Villa on Sunday.[LNB] The club have been charged with failing to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion after referee Martin Atkinson was surrounded by a furious group following his award of a late penalty.[LNB]Blues defender Stephen Carr has also been charged with improper conduct for allegedly making an offensive gesture to Villa fans at the end of the match. West Midlands Police are also expected to question Carr over the incident.[LNB]Birmingham defender Roger Johnson, who was penalised for Atkinson to concede the spot-kick that led to Villa winning 1-0, has been asked to explain his comments to the media in which he attacked Atkinson.[LNB]The FA said in a statement: "Birmingham City FC have been charged with failing to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion, relating to the players' behaviour towards referee Martin Atkinson following the awarding of a spot-kick to Aston Villa late in the fixture.[LNB]"Birmingham City defender Stephen Carr has been charged with improper conduct following an incident at the end of the same fixture.[LNB]"Meanwhile Roger Johnson, also of City, has been asked to explain comments made to the media after the fixture in relation to referee Martin Atkinson."[LNB]The match at Villa Park was decided when Atkinson penalised Johnson for a challenge on Gabriel Agbonlahor with eight minutes remaining and James Milner scored from the spot.[LNB]TV replays showed the defender had got a touch on the ball and Johnson said afterwards: "The referee was a disgrace. He's ruined the match and clearly shouldn't be doing these kind of games - it was too big for him.[LNB]"I got the ball cleanly, everyone could see that, and the ref can't make a decision if he's not sure. The rules say if you're not sure, you don't give a penalty."[LNB]Atkinson has been defended by former top referee Graham Poll who said the match official had been superb.[LNB]Poll said: "There is a widely-held view that if a player touches the ball then it cannot be a foul - that is not correct.[LNB]"Roger Johnson did play the ball first but it remained within playing distance of Gabriel Agbonlahor. Johnson's challenge meant that he then brought the Villa striker down."

Source: Team_Talk