Sheffield United searching for balance after Coventry City incident leads to big fine and threat of arrest

Chris Wilder insists that Sheffield United will not become a soft-touch on the field going forward despite admitting that they have to “toe the line” after being hit with their latest FA fine this week. The Blades were disciplined for their part in the half-time melee during their draw at Coventry City, minutes after Anel Ahmedhodzic was sent off.

Although United had few complaints about the Bosnian’s red card, the provocation from Coventry striker Norman Bassette didn’t go unnoticed and sparked some fiery scenes as the two clubs made their way off at the break. Both sides were subsequently charged by the FA with failing to control their players.

The tunnel “confrontation” was missed by all the match officials at the time but referee Darren Bond confirmed, in a written statement, that there was CCTV footage of the incident. “Following the game, Claire Harkness (CCFC Ops Director) attended the dressing room for us to advise a report would be submitted,” Bond’s statement said.

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“I was advised by Claire that CCTV is available, with police involvement that could lead to a possible arrest for a Sheffield United coaching member. At the conclusion of the game, there were a number of police officers within the tunnel area”.

United admitted the FA charge, submitting to the FA that the conduct of Bassette in the first half had been a contributing factor to the half-time melee. But the FA found that the incident was started by the unnamed United coach and the Blades were hit with an £80,000 fine after their fourth breach of that particular rule, and their sixth in the space of just over two years at first-team level, with five more in youth games.

United had already been fined earlier this season for incidents against Wrexham, Watford and Portsmouth, and any further breaches of the rules will see their fine increase further. “We're getting done historically over a period of time,” Wilder said. “We addressed it with the players, we have to make sure that we toe the line and we rein it in a little bit.

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“But not too much. I've gone on record, I thought the Wrexham one was a disappointing decision by everyone, to get charged. I definitely thought the Portsmouth one [was harsh]. You hold your hands up to the Watford one, there's no escaping that, then obviously the Coventry was one for everyone to see. How players act and how they want to go about their business.

“I think the level of fine was historic, more than anything, but I spoke to [chief executive] Steve Bettis about it and we can't keep racking up these fines as well. I think the discipline of the team has been very, very good. I don't want to take the fight out of the dog and we'll still be scrapping, and we're not going to get bullied by anyone. It is an emotional game and a competitive game. And that's what everybody wants to see. Sometimes when it does step over the line a little bit, I'd like to think that the hierarchy in the FA will maybe look at that and just be a bit sympathetic in terms of a competitive sport, an emotional sport and people want to win.

“They want to fight for everything and earn everything. And sometimes things happen and maybe a little bit of a lenient approach, not just for us but for everybody. When it all kicks off, I get it and it kicked off there. So I get it. But there was a little bit of provocation in that and we have to make sure we look after what we look after, which is not getting bullied. Which we'll never be. We have to stand up to the challenge of everything but make sure we're disciplined in our approach. It cost us that day. In my opinion, we'd have gone and won that game. So Anel knows it, the players know it and they've been pretty good since.”