Luton Town have been fined £120,000 after “homophobic” chanting from travelling fans during their first Premier League fixture against Brighton.
The club, who earned elevation to the English top flight for the first time since 1992 earlier this year, accepted a charge brought by the Football Association (FA) in relation to behaviour at their 12 August trip to the Amex Stadium.
Luton have also been warned about their future conduct and issued with a two-year FA action plan.
“The club have been fined £120,000 by the FA for homophobic chanting during our away match against Brighton & Hove Albion,” the club said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.
“Homophobia, like all forms of discrimination, has no place in football or society.”
The club added: “As an inclusive, family-oriented Club, Luton Town abhors abusive chanting such as this and has a zero-tolerance policy towards discrimination of all kinds. It is not acceptable towards anyone in football or wider society, either in person or online.
“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.”
The club were also forced to issue a statement condemning the behaviour of some supporters during Liverpool’s visit to Kenilworth Road on 5 November.
Taunts that appeared to indirectly reference the Hillsborough tragedy were said to have been heard during the game.
Luton took on Liverpool on 5 November— (Getty Images)
Luton said at the time that they were “saddened” and “extremely disappointed that a small number of supporters soured the occasion with chants that may be interpreted as being in relation to tragedies that have affected Liverpool FC in the past”.
The club stressed that any perpetrators could face stadium bans and possible criminal prosecutions, while the FA contacted police for information after the fixture.
