Cardiff's Krystian Bielik death threat claim as written reasons released after Portsmouth supporter incident
The Cardiff defender was given a two-match ban and £10,000 fine earlier this month
Krystian Bielik has claimed his family were ‘subjected to death threats’ in the aftermath his Fratton Park encounter with a Pompey supporter.
Although a Regulatory Commission insisted ‘no supporting evidence had been provided’ during the process of imposing a two-match ban on the Cardiff footballer.
Fresh details of the controversial September incident have emerged following today’s publication of the Commission’s written reasons following the FA’s decision to charge Bielik with misconduct.
The flashpoint arrived in the 72nd minute of the Championship fixture, when the defender confronted a Blues supporter while attempting to retrieve the ball, with the fan instead throwing it away.
Pleaded guilty to FA charge
Having pleaded guilty to a charge of misconduct, in a statement to the Commission, Bielik insisted he had placed his hand on the fan’s shoulder and ‘pushed away as I moved back’, with the push ‘partly caused by frustration, but it was also affected by my forward momentum’.
However, the Regulatory Commission ‘did not accept that KB’s momentum was in part the reason for the contact’.
Instead they ruled that ‘the proximity of KB’s hand to the spectator’s neck had the potential in the moment to suggest a neck grab, noting that a number of spectators were putting their hands on their throats to illustrate what they thought had happened’.
In addition, it accepted that, while the action ‘was not at the most aggressive end of the spectrum’, Bielik had made contact with a straight arm in the area of the spectator’s neck’.
The incident, which was captured on live television, drew national attention, with Bielik subsequently charged with misconduct on September 23.
In a statement to the commission, Bielik said: ‘Instead of handing the ball back to me, the supporter threw the ball away and back onto the pitch.
‘At this point I was already leaning towards the supporter and so as I turned my face away to see where the supporter had thrown the ball, I placed my hand on his shoulder and pushed away as I moved back.
‘I accept that the push was partly caused by frustration, but it was also affected by my forward momentum and my attempt to turn around and retrieve the ball as quickly as possible.
‘I did not grab the supporter by the shoulder or the neck. I acknowledge that I placed my hand on his shoulder and pushed away as I moved back. I accept that I should not have made physical contact with the supporter, and I deeply regret doing so.’
‘Flawless’ disciplinary record
Described as having a ‘flawless’ disciplinary record and being a ‘consummate professional’, Bielik had no proven misconduct charges in the previous five seasons.
His defence also claimed he had ‘demonstrated remorse’ by sending a letter of apology to the Pompey fan on September 10, prior to being charged by the FA with misconduct.
However, the Commission agreed that ‘it should only give limited credit for the acceptance of the charge…. in light of the clear video footage, KB had had little option but to accept it.’
Although the FA pushed for a three-game ban before mitigation, Bielik was handed a two-match suspension from Cardiff’s next two competitive matches, along with a fine of £10,000.
In its findings, the Commission said: ‘The Commission accepted the mitigating factors identified by the parties, other than the fact that KB had not further retaliated when the spectator had hit him. This was commendable restraint on his behalf, but could not lessen his culpability for his initial action.
‘The Commission noted KB’s comments about his family being subjected to death threats. This was regrettable and to be deplored, but again did not impact on the overall sanction or the decision to suspend all or part of it, particularly as no supporting evidence had been provided to the Commission.
‘The Commission agreed that it should only give limited credit for the acceptance of the charge, concurring with The FA that in light of the clear video footage, KB had had little option but to accept it.
‘Taking into account the mitigating factors and the admission, and having considered the previous decisions to which it had been referred (albeit while noting that each case turns on its own particular facts), the Commission concluded that a reduction to a two-match ban would be appropriate.
‘The Commission agreed with The FA that KB had not identified any clear and compelling reasons for suspending the penalty.
‘The Commission considered that the severity of the offence needed to be marked by an immediate sporting sanction.’