Birmingham City have been fined an additional £85,000 for their involvement in a mass confrontation during the final Championship match of the season at Portsmouth. The incident occurred in the closing stages when both teams clashed.
Portsmouth attacker Adrian Segecic sparked the melee by attempting to lob goalkeeper James Beadle after Blues expected the ball to be returned following a stoppage for treatment. Beadle, Bright Osayi-Samuel, and Phil Neumann immediately confronted Segecic, and the situation briefly escalated.
This marks the seventh fine for Birmingham City since Chris Davies took over as head coach in 2024. The club accumulated four fines in League One and two earlier in the Championship season: £100,000 for a clash with Ipswich Town and £115,000 against Hull City.
The FA outlined several mitigating factors in their Written Reasons: the incident was triggered by Segecic's actions; inadequate security arrangements by Portsmouth inflamed the situation; the match was televised but drew lower viewership; the club acknowledged the issue and committed to preventive measures; and Blues apologized and admitted the charge early.
Statements were submitted by Davies, Osayi-Samuel, Neumann, Kai Wagner, Tomoki Iwata, and chief executive Jeremy Dale. Dale, who did not attend the match, stated he had stressed to coaching staff that mass confrontations must stop. He noted a deliberate focus in training on proper reactions and ongoing efforts to ensure player awareness of expected conduct.
At the hearing, Dale and club secretary Zoe Jones informed the committee that the Board was considering amendments to the club’s Code of Conduct to highlight the detrimental impact of mass confrontations and potentially pass fines back to players if deemed appropriate.
