- On Monday, a rocket was thrown onto the pitch in the direction of the Chelsea stars
- The FA is investigating the incident to assess whether action should be taken
- Chris Sutton: ‘How My Son Almost Died’ – Listen to It all starts podcast
Raheem Sterling could face a ban after appearing to throw a missile back into the crowd during Chelsea’s chaotic Premier League clash with Tottenham on Monday.
The incident came moments after Cole Palmer had leveled the Blues from the penalty spot in the first half following Cristian Romero’s red card for a nasty lunge on Enzo Fernandez.
Palmer celebrated by putting his finger to his lips in front of the Spurs fans, and was congratulated by several of his teammates, including Sterling.
A video from the pitch – taken from Chelsea’s own TikTok account – shows an object launched from the area where Tottenham fans live hitting Palmer on the leg.
As the players break away to head back for the restart, Sterling appears to duck and throw the item back into the crowd before returning to his own half.
Raheem Sterling appeared to throw a rocket back into the crowd after Chelsea scored the equalizer against Tottenham on Monday
Sterling is now being assessed by the FA, who are investigating whether action is required
The incident took place as Cole Palmer was celebrating in front of Tottenham supporters. There is no indication that any fans in the photo were involved in the incident
The footage originally appeared on Chelsea’s own TikTok channel on Tuesday morning
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The incident went unnoticed by officials at the time, but an FA spokesperson has told Mail Sport it is under review as they look to see if action needs to be taken.
Sterling then helped Chelsea to a 4-1 win over their London rivals as Spurs were reduced to nine men in the second half when Destiny Udogie was shown a second yellow card.
The bad-tempered derby ended with Nicolas Jackson scoring a second-half hat-trick, and Sterling set up the first of his goals as he unselfishly squared the ball for a simple tap-in.
There have been a number of other incidents in recent seasons where players have thrown objects back into the crowd.
Richarlison was banned by the FA for throwing a lit flare back into the crowd after scoring for Everton against Chelsea in May 2022, ahead of his move to Tottenham later that summer. His one-match suspension delayed his debut for Spurs.
Chelsea icon Didier Drogba was handed a three-match ban in 2008 when he threw a coin at Burnley fans during their Carabao Cup defeat on penalties.
And former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher was also handed a three-match ban – and given a formal police warning – after throwing a £1 coin at Arsenal fans during an FA Cup match at Highbury in 2002.
Richarlison was charged by the FA for throwing flares into the crowd when the Toffees played Chelsea in May 2022
Drogba was banned in 2008 for throwing a coin into the crowd against Burnley in 2008
Jamie Carragher was sent away and given a police warning after throwing a coin at Highbury