Mansfield Town have been fined £10,000 by Football Association for the pitch invasion that took place after the Stags secured promotion to League One last season.
The Nottinghamshire club admitted they failed to control spectators as they spilled onto the One Call Stadium pitch after the 2-1 victory against Accrington Stanley, which earned them a place in England’s third tier for the first time in 21 years.
Sections of the crowd had already climbed over advertising boards to line the pitch before the full-time whistle sounded, drawing criticism from the independent regulatory commission which heard the case.
“That the occasion was, thankfully, a wholly joyous one celebrating promotion to League One does not matter,” the commission wrote in its finding., external
“A potentially dangerous and/or hostile situation was created with the fact that no incidents occurred being a happy outcome of happenstance, as opposed to being relevant to the club’s duty to ensure the scenario did not develop in the first instance.”
The club was also given a warning about its future conduct and ordered to pay the costs of the regulatory commission.