Chris Wilder Fined £11,500 by FA for Referee Criticism

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has been fined £11,500 by the Football Association for his comments about referee Tony Harrington following his team’s loss to Crystal Palace in January. Wilder had described Harrington’s performance as “ridiculous” and claimed that a Premier League referee had informed him that every 50-50 decision would go against his team.

The FA charged Chris Wilder with improper conduct stating that his comments implied bias, attacked the referee’s integrity and brought the game into disrepute. Chris Wilder accepted the charge and in addition to criticizing Harrington, he accused one of the referee’s assistants of lacking respect for eating a sandwich during their post-game discussion.