Fulham face the prospect of severe punishment after the Football Association threw the book at the club following Saturday’s stormy match against West Brom.
Charges have been brought against the club, striker Andy Cole and manager Chris Coleman while the FA have also charged West Brom’s Neil Clement.
Fulham face a fine of up to £250,000 for allegedly failing to ensure their players conducted themselves properly after referee Mike Dean reported them for harassment.
Cole could end up with a six-match ban as a result of his sending-off for fighting and subsequent remarks to Dean.
Cole will have an automatic three-match ban for the dismissal and faces an additional charge of violent conduct – due to the seriousness of the offence – plus further punishment for abusing a match official.
Fulham have also been accused of failing to ensure that Papa Bouba Diop vacated the field of play and technical area following his sending-off for violent conduct after the Senegal international watched the rest of the match from behind the dug-out.
Coleman’s charge of bringing the game into disrepute relates to comments about referee Mark Halsey following the match against Arsenal on Saturday, September 11.
West Brom’s Clement has also been charged with violent conduct for the incident involving Cole, which blew up following his sending-off for denying a goal-scoring opportunity, and faces a ban of four matches.
Both Fulham and Cole have 14 days to respond and their cases will be heard on Wednesday, October 6.
Clement’s case will be dealt with under the new fast-track system as an incident outside the referee’s jurisdiction but reported to the FA. Clement has two days to respond.
The FA brought the charges after receiving Dean’s report and officials from the compliance unit studied video footage of the match, which ended 1-1.
Dean confirmed on Sunday that he would be reporting Fulham, saying: “It seemed to me that they went purposely every time I gave a decision to harass me throughout the game and that will be reported.”
