Huddersfield fined £70,000 for failing to control supporters after play-off semi-final win over Luton Town

Huddersfield Town have been fined £70,000 by an independent Regulatory Commission for failing to control their supporters at the end of the Sky Bet Championship play-off final semi-final match against Luton Town last season.

Following Jordan Rhodes’ late winner which secured a 2-1 aggregate victory for the hosts, sending the Terriers to Wembley, home fans raced on to the pitch and made a beeline for Hatters’ players, plus the visiting supporters, some throwing objects into the away end.

In his post-match press conference, Luton boss Nathan Jones condemned the scenes as an ‘absolute disgrace’, saying: “How one of us haven’t been… the stewards, I don’t know why they turned up.

“They were protecting ours, to come on the pitch, but the fans were an absolute disgrace.

“They didn’t paint Huddersfield Town as a good club, in terms of how they were.

“They’ve won the game, go and celebrate with your players, celebrate something wonderful, instead, they were more concerned with obscene gestures.”

Huddersfield were charged for the incident back in July, with the club admitting they ‘failed to ensure its spectators – and all persons purporting to be its supporters or followers – conducted themselves in an orderly fashion, and refrained from using provocative, threatening, and violent behaviour whilst encroaching onto the pitch.’

The sanction remains subject to appeal, but Terriers’ operations director Ann Hough said: “The severity of this fine is a clear indication of just how serious the events following our play-off semi-final win against Luton, alongside other similar scenes across football in that time, have been taken by the governing bodies.

“We fully understand what a superb moment reaching the play-off final was for our supporters and being able to celebrate together is a major part of being a fan.

"However, some individuals stepped way, way beyond that line on the evening.

“This is also why we constantly stress that nobody should be on the pitch other than the players and technical staff.

"There are genuine safety concerns about mass incursions of this nature, and the football authorities – and the club – cannot stand by and wait until a serious injury occurs.

“We have no choice other than to take significant action against any individual that runs onto the field of play at any point, or who acts in a provocative, threatening, or violent way.

"That will range from bans from the John Smith’s Stadium to legal action. There is no place for that kind of behaviour at Huddersfield Town.

“On top of this significant fine, it is possible that this can also have financial knock-on effects on the club’s policing and stewarding costs if our games are now judged to be higher risk than before.

"The financial impact should not be underestimated.

“The vast majority of our supporters are an absolute credit to the club – I want to make that clear – but it is important that everyone understands the connotations of these events.”