Chelsea and Tottenham issued hefty fines by FA for Stamford Bridge fracas

Word has come down from on high, in this case the FA: as expected, both Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea have been issued fines by the Football Association for a lack of control stemming from the two clubs' behaviors during the so-called Battle of Stamford Bridge.

Tottenham has been issued a fine of £225,000 and Chelsea £375,000 for breaching FA Rule E20, "failure to control their players and/or officials." The fact that both clubs are fined will come as a surprise to absolutely no one, as both teams had moments during the match where their players acted abhorrently.

Chelsea fans are screaming conspiracy on social media over the fact that their club received a higher fine than Spurs did despite Tottenham being pilloried for a series of hard tackles in the second half of the match and midfielder Mousa Dembele getting suspended six matches for eye-gouging Diego Costa.

However, the FA explained that the fines are disproportionate because this is the fourth time Chelsea has been in violation of Rule E20 since 2014, while this is only the second infraction in the same time period by Tottenham. So it's not that Chelsea were nastier than Spurs were in this match, but that they've been consistently nastier than Spurs over the course of the past two seasons.

Which doesn't make the larger fine any less hilarious.