Gillingham have been fined by the Football Association over "vile abuse" and language “at the worst end of the spectrum."

The Gills must pay £12,500 after admitting misconduct in relation to three separate crowd control incidents last season over the space of two months, including racist and sexist abuse.

Back in May the club was charged with failing to ensure that its spectators and/or supporters conducted themselves in an orderly fashion, in home games against Colchester and AFC Wimbledon and away at Sutton United.

Gillingham have worked hard this season to tackle discrimination voiced from the stands, with fans now able to report abuse to a dedicated phone number. There have also been regular announcements and messages in the matchday programme during home games, warning against misconduct. A video was also made prior to the season on social media.

An independent Regulatory Commission imposed the club’s sanctions following a hearing earlier this month, which was attended by majority owners Brad and Shannon Galinson, and fellow board member Paul Scally.

The Colchester United match was played at Priestfield on Boxing Day, 2022, with a visiting player reporting to the referee that he had “heard the chant, ‘you b**** b*****’ twice” from behind the goal.

Footage from the incident was also said to have included several offensive words said by a lone voice, along with “chants” of “you b**** b******”. A police officer was sent to the Rainham End to observe the area where the chanting was said to have come from.

PC Greensmith, the dedicated football officer, said that the Colchester player also heard a comment “you b**** s***,” and he submitted two crime reports.

Following the game, Colchester player Junior Tchamadeu said: “There were two incidents that happened, both in the first half.

“One was at John (Akinde) and then when I scored. There’s no room for it in the game."

Three days later the Gills played away at Sutton United where there were comments made to a female physio, with a chant of “w*** him off” coming from the Gillingham section when she treated an injured Sutton player.

An announcement was made at the ground to ask supporters from making any further discriminatory language. The physio herself reported to the referee that spectators had chanted “get your **** out for the lads” earlier in the game.

One spectator was ejected from the stadium at half-time but the police hadn’t taken any personal details, having had the individual handed over to them by stewards.

The third FA charge came in the match against Wimbledon on February 25 at Priestfield where another female physio was said to have been subjected to the chant of “get your **** out for the lads.” The referee heard the chant, as did some visiting staff members in the technical area.

Mr Scally led the mitigation for the Gills, saying that the club was appalled by the incidents and noting that since his involvement, in 1995, the club had never been charged over such incidents before.

The club accepted the accuracy of the facts set out in relation to all incidents.

The Gills said that the amount of people chanting was “five or six” in the matches against Colchester and Wimbledon.

Gillingham’s head of stadium operations, Gary Newman, acknowledged that the three incidents were extremely serious in nature. He maintained that each incident involved individuals and not any group of GFC supporters.

He stated “that the incidents were immediately investigated, including interviews in and around the area and a detailed review of CCTV footage was undertaken with guidance sought from Kent police.” However, no perpetrators had been identified.

During the season at Priestfield, 17 arrests were made and 19 ejections issued. Mr Newman added that the club was “a safe, family-based matchday experience.”

Mr Scally added that “the club was dealing with a tough section of its fanbase. It needed to set up educational programmes that made clear what was right and what was wrong.”

The Commission stated that “the racist abuse hurled and chanted during the Colchester match was vile.

“The sexist abuse levelled at the female physiotherapist during the Sutton match is as bad as the Commission has seen and the chanting that took place at that match was repeated during the Wimbledon match.

“Whilst the physiotherapist at the Wimbledon match was not aware of the chanting, the same cannot be said of the Colchester player and the Sutton physiotherapist. It is almost impossible to imagine the extreme hurt that must have been felt by each of those persons.”

It added: “No less than eight weeks separated the Sutton and Wimbledon matches and yet the commission saw no signs of specific action having been taken by the club.

“There were no specific references to those events in the following match programme, despite the assurance given by the club to the FA that the incident in question would be put in the match programme, and there does not appear to have been any concerted effort to find witnesses.

“If, as appears to have been the case, the CCTV had been demonstrated by the Colchester game as unfit for purpose, urgent steps should have been taken after that match to improve the CCTV coverage. The Commission does not accept that part of the Club’s mitigation which asserted that it is more difficult to focus on a small group.

“The opposite is assuredly the case, provided CCTV coverage is of the requisite quality and standard. Indeed, the fact that a large percentage of the GFC supporters occupy the Rainham End terrace leads to the obvious conclusion that enhanced CCTV coverage should be installed to cover that area.”

The commission revealed that undercover stewards were sent into the Rainham End following the first report of racism at the Colchester game but “none of those stewards would appear to have heard the second instance of abuse hurled at the Colchester player and recorded in the police crime report.”

The commission said that the language used was “at the worst end of the spectrum” and noted the three matches took place over a short period of time.

The commission has proposed an in-depth action plan for the club and will monitor it being complied with. Gillingham have been warned as to their future conduct.

A statement from Gillingham said: “We take these findings from the FA seriously. Chanting of this nature is unacceptable. Furthermore, there is no place for any manner of discriminatory, offensive, or abusive behaviour or language of any kind inside our ground.

“It is the intention of Gillingham FC to further develop our existing anti-discriminatory initiatives to be more proactive in our approach to abuse.

“We will continue to reinforce our zero-tolerance policy via all messaging avenues available to us, including our website, social media platforms, club charter, club fan guide, announcements, LED boards, and posters.

“We also commit to timely and thorough investigation of such matters, as well as the introduction of a club sanctions policy.

Chairman Brad Galinson said: “Since we purchased the club, we have spent a significant amount of money and resources on improving all areas of the club - from investing in the First Team playing squad to building a new shop, installing pitchside LED screens, and upgrading facilities to improve the matchday experience.

"We are happy to do so, but what is frustrating is this wasted spend. It’s money leaving the club without any return that benefits it.”

The club added: “We invite our family of supporters to join us in preventing discrimination and abuse at Priestfield.

“If we are charged in the future and found guilty, the FA and the commission have made it clear that the penalties for our club will be severe and will include even larger fines and/or points deductions.”