Lampard fined £30,000 for Anfield ref comments

Frank Lampard has been hit with a £30,000 fine by the FA after being charged for breaching rules over his comments criticising referee Stuart Attwell in the wake of Everton’s 2-0 defeat by Liverpool last month.

Boss Lampard was infuriated by the decision from the official not to award a penalty after Anthony Gordon was tackled inside the box by Joel Matip, with Attwell having waved away the appeals. The incident was also checked over by VAR.

Speaking post-match, Lampard insinuated that the Reds would have been awarded the spot-kick if Mohamed Salah had gone down instead, and it is those remarks that have now landed him in hot water – with the FA confirming his punishment today.

A statement said: “An independent Regulatory Commission has fined Frank Lampard £30,000 after finding a charge against him for breaching FA Rule E3 in relation to media comments proven during a personal hearing.

“The Everton FC manager made the comments after their Premier League game against Liverpool on Sunday 24 April 2022, and he denied that they constitute improper conduct as they imply and/or attack the integrity of the match referee – or referees generally – and/or bring the game into disrepute contrary to FA Rule E3.1.”

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Lampard denied the charge, but it has been upheld in an independent hearing.

The Toffees had taken the dramatic step of contacting the Professional Game Match Officials Board for a second time this season with concerns over the decision.

“It was a penalty,’ Lampard said in his interview after the Merseyside derby. ‘If that was Mo Salah at the other end, he gets a penalty.

“You don’t get them here (Anfield). That’s the reality of football sometimes.

“If you look back with that on VAR, there’s questionable things going on, maybe that’s to be expected when you come here.”