Chelsea have been charged by the English Football Association, following an incident in their match with Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge in late December.
Unai Emery manager of Aston Villa looks on during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Aston Villa
Chelsea have been charged by the FA after an incident involving the Aston Villa bench at Stamford Bridge(Image: (Photo by Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images))
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The English FA have charged Chelsea for an incident on the touchline in their clash with Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge in late December.
The London club are said to be investigating the situation, which saw a plastic water bottle thrown at the Villa bench after the game had concluded.
Unai Emery and his staff were celebrating the comeback win over the Blues when the bottle appeared to land on the touchline and splashed some of the coaching team and players.
Aston Villa lodged a formal complaint, with Chelsea willing to comply with the investigation into the matter, with it unclear exactly who caused the incident to occur.
The FA said in a statement on Friday: "Chelsea FC has been charged with a breach of FA Rule E20.1 following the Premier League fixture against Aston Villa FC on Saturday 27 December 2025.
"It's alleged that the club failed to ensure its players and/or other relevant personnel positioned around the technical area after the final whistle did not behave in an improper and/or provocative and/or abusive way. Chelsea FC has until Monday 12 January 2026 to provide a response."
It came after a fiery encounter between the sides, where a Joao Pedro goal gave Chelsea the lead at Stamford Bridge in a comfortable first-half performance.
Whatever Emery said at half-time certainly fired his team up, as a much-changed second-half performance was capped off with a result to go with it.
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 27: Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa celebrates after the team's victory in the Premier League match between Chelsea and Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on December 27, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)(Image: (Photo by Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images))
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Substitute Ollie Watkins came to the rescue, scoring in the 63rd and 84th minutes to turn the game around and earn an important three points.
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