FA releases official statement after Sunderland and Luton Town melee
The FA has confirmed that both Sunderland and Luton have been charged for the melee that ensued after their encounter last week (23 October).
An incident at the full-time Whistle involving Chris Mepham and Thomas Kaminski saw tensions rise with players from both sides seen having it off with each other.
Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris seemed confident that the Black Cats wouldn’t face any punishment but a statement from the FA (28 October) confirmed their decision.
The statement, as posted on the FA Spokesperson X account, reads: “Luton Town and Sunderland have been charged following the mass confrontation at their EFL Championship match on Wednesday 23 October.
“Both clubs allegedly failed to ensure that their players and/or technical area staff didn’t behave in an improper and/or provocative way after the final whistle.”
The statement also states that the clubs have until 29 October to respond.
What happened after Sunderland v Luton?
Ultimately, a whole lot of nothing. It was a typical incident that often happens in games where tensions are high and perhaps Luton felt hard done by due to some controversial decisions in the game.
Kaminski, having come up for a corner kick, seemed to push his head into the face of Mepham leading to the two squaring off. Other players got involved and quite frankly, Sunderland didn’t do much wrong if anything at all.
Jordan Clark was seen almost slapping the face of Luke O’Nien, something which appears to have gone unpunished for the large part.
O’Nien played his part in winding the opposition up by doing his best Jimmy Bullard impression, leapfrogging the melee for reasons unknown.
One thing to take from the melee was Sunderland’s willingness to stick up for each other. The Black Cats appear to have an incredibly tight-knit group and that will be a huge component to the success they can achieve this season.
In other Sunderland news, Under-21 defender Ben Crompton has reflected on his return to the side amid previous injury troubles.
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