Chelsea hit with FA charge following Liam Delap penalty decision protests

Chelsea have been charged by the Football Association (FA) for allegedly failing to control their players during Monday’s 2-0 defeat at Ipswich Town.

The charge relates to Chelsea’s protests to referee John Brooks after his decision to award Ipswich a 10th-minute penalty, with goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen judged to have tripped Liam Delap.

Several Chelsea players — including Cole Palmer, Tosin Adarabioyo, Marc Cucurella, Moises Caicedo and Jorgensen — surrounded the referee to contest the call. The decision was upheld by video assistant referee (VAR) Michael Oliver and Delap scored the resulting spot-kick to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

A Premier League statement explaining the decision said the VAR had “deemed there was sufficient contact for a penalty”.

Delap dispatched the subsequent penalty (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

An FA statement on Friday said: “It’s alleged that during the 10th minute of the fixture, Chelsea failed to ensure that its players did not behave in an improper manner.”

The club have been given until January 7 to provide a response to the charge.

Former Chelsea winger Omari Hutchinson added a second for the hosts 13 minutes after half-time to seal a first home win of the season for Ipswich, who remain in the relegation places.

Defeat for Chelsea, their second in as many games, saw them slip to fourth in the Premier League table.

They return to action against Crystal Palace on Saturday and can go third at the expense of Nottingham Forest, who play Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday.