Chelsea's Europa Conference League opponents punished for Stamford Bridge damage

Chelsea will have Gent cover the costs of repairing the away end at Stamford Bridge after their supporters damaged it earlier this month during a Europa Conference League match.

UEFA has also fined the Belgian club around £33,000 (€40,000) following the incidents of 3 October. Fans removed seats from their section, and debris ended up on the playing surface.

Thousands of Gent supporters were in west London for the fixture, and the club will pay a fine of roughly £11 per person. This figure is also slightly less than the reputed weekly wage of the Blues' backup goalkeeper, Marcus Bettinelli.

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After the match, Gent released the following statement: "Our twelfth man gave the best of himself at Stamford Bridge. For 90 minutes, our team was cheered on by 3,000 Ghent throats, a fantastic experience!

"Unfortunately, there were also some incidents in the stadium. Our club regrets this. The London police made some arrests and KAA Gent awaits further information about the investigation."

They have acknowledged the disciplinary action, adding: "The European Football Association UEFA has fined KAA Gent 40,000 euros for incidents during the match against Chelsea. A number of seats were damaged, and part of a seat ended up on the field.

"KAA Gent must also compensate Chelsea for the damage caused. Our club regrets the facts and will investigate this matter further."

UEFA confirmed the incidents involved the "throwing of objects" and "acts of damage caused to the stadium and/or its installations." They also instructed Gent to "contact Chelsea for the settlement of the damages caused by its supporters".

Chelsea were fined almost £3,750 (€4,500) for throwing objects, too, while head coach Enzo Maresca and the club received warnings for a late kick-off. The Blues got the game back underway for the second half while leading 1-0 before eventually winning 4-2.