Lincoln City fined over fans abuse of Wrexham's James McClean

Lincoln City has been fined £8,500 by the Football Association (FA) after supporters aimed "sectarian chants" at an opposition player.

The FA said the club had failed to control supporters after Wrexham's James McClean was verbally abused in two incidents during a match at Sincil Bank on 3 May.

As well as the fine the FA has imposed an action plan on The Imps to try and stop future incidents which would see the club face further sanctions.

Chief executive Liam Scully said: "We accept the charge, recognise our responsibility, and remain firmly committed to eradicating negative behaviour through a combination of education and sanctions."

In its report, the FA said the two incidents were reported by anti-racism group Kick It Out on 7 May.

The FA said in response to the report the club reviewed CCTV, liaised with Lincolnshire Police and interviewed stewards.

A number of fans had "been identified as perpetrators" and "seven individuals were banned from the club for varying periods," the FA added.

The measures in the action plan include setting up a system to allow fans to report abuse, developing an education programme in conjunction with Kick It Out and establishing a "protocol for dealing with abuse aimed at players, managers and match officials".

Speaking to BBC Radio Lincolnshire, Mr Scully said he hoped to hold an open meeting with supporters "to hear the experiences of the fans".

"I think it's really important that we then work around both education and sanctioning," he said.

"Using those two vehicles together as the right blend and the right mix in order to tackle this going forward."

He added: "I think it's getting that balance between making sure we have that phenomenal atmosphere that we do that we're not sterilising the games, and that's absolutely the last thing that we want to do, but I don't think these things are mutually exclusive from each other.

"I believe and I know we can have an inclusive environment where everybody is happy, everybody is enjoyable, everybody's welcoming and the phenomenal atmosphere that we do have at Sincil Bank as well."

The club said is was also in talks with the FA "regarding similar alleged behaviour during our Carabao Cup fixture against Chelsea last month".

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