Birmingham City Football Club News

• Nickname:Blues
• Founded:1875
• Manager:Chris Hughton

• Ground:St Andrew's
• Capacity:30,016

Johnson escapes ban for ref rant

11 May 2010 - 16:07:09

Click To Enlarge

Birmingham City defender Roger Johnson has been fined £7,500 by the Football Association for the comments he made in the wake of last month's 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa.

The former Cardiff City star has however escaped a ban although he has been warned as to his future conduct. Johnson requested an FA personal hearing which was held on Tuesday.

City have also requested a hearing after being charged with failing to control players in an orderly fashion after the 25 April contest, a charge they have already accepted.

Speaking after the match, Johnson had said: "The referee (Martin Atkinson) was a disgrace. He's ruined the match and clearly shouldn't be doing these kinds of games - it was too big for him.

"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.

"Villa are at home, they've got the crowd behind them and the ref has made a split-second decision which is plain wrong."

Full-back Stephen Carr was suspended for one game after being found guilty of making an offensive gesture towards Villa fans in the same match.