The Football Association has fined Luton Town £120,000 and issued the club with a two-year action plan after homophobic chanting by fans at Brighton on the opening day of the season.
The Hatters, promoted to the top flight for the first time in 31 years in May, have accepted the charge and said that any fans identified will be banned by the club.
An FA Statement said: “An independent regulatory commission has imposed an action plan and £120,000 fine on Luton Town for misconduct in relation to crowd control at their game against Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League on Saturday 12 August.
“Luton Town admitted that they failed to ensure their spectators and/or supporters (and anyone purporting to be supporters or followers) conduct themselves in an orderly fashion and do not use words or otherwise behave in a way which is improper, offensive, abusive, indecent or insulting with either express or implied reference to sexual orientation.”
Luton said that they were “an inclusive, family-oriented club” which “abhors abusive chanting such as this and has a zero-tolerance policy towards discrimination of all kinds”.
The club said that it would continue to promote the “Love Football. Protect The Game” campaign and added: “Those involved were committing a criminal offence and anyone subsequently identified will be issued with a club ban and face potential police investigation.
“Luton Town has worked with supporters in recent seasons to help form the Rainbow Hatters supporters’ group for members of the LGBTQ+ community who meet regularly to share their experiences of watching the Hatters.
“We will work further with supporter groups to educate and inform on all forms of discriminatory acts to ensure that watching Luton Town is a safe and welcoming experience for everyone.”
