BIRMINGHAM CITY FINED £10,000 BY FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION

Johnson's challenge on Agbonlahor was the decisive moment of the match

Birmingham City have been fined £10,000 by the Football Association for failing to control their players after a 1-0 defeat by Aston Villa last month.

A number of Blues players were incensed after referee Martin Atkinson awarded a penalty when Roger Johnson was adjudged to have fouled Gabriel Agbonlahor.

Birmingham have also been warned about their future conduct.

Johnson was fined £7,500 by the FA last week for comments about Atkinson made to the media after the match.

The defender was charged with two counts of improper conduct for criticising Atkinson and the FA's Respect programme.

The 27-year-old was also warned about his future conduct but escaped a ban.

Team-mate Stephen Carr had already been given a one-match suspension after accepting a charge of improper conduct having allegedly made an offensive gesture to Aston Villa fans after the match.

Atkinson penalised Johnson for a challenge on Agbonlahor with eight minutes remaining and James Milner scored from the spot to settle the game on 25 April.

Television replays showed the defender had got a touch on the ball and Johnson said afterwards: “The referee was a disgrace. He's ruined the match and clearly shouldn't be doing these kind of games – it was too big for him.

“I got the ball cleanly, everyone could see that, and the ref can't make a decision if he's not sure. The rules say if you're not sure, you don't give a penalty.”