Arsenal Women FC have been fined 50,000 pounds ($61,100.00) by the Football Association after being found guilty of discrimination against a former youth team coach in 2014.
An FA statement http://www.thefa.com/news/2020/may/27/arsenal-women-fined-270520 on Wednesday said the club had breached Rule E4 in dismissing under 15s head coach Robin Carpenter after he disclosed that he believed he was suffering from autism.
Arsenal Women denied the allegation but it was subsequently found proven by an independent Regulatory Commission which concluded that Arsenal "treated him less favourably than they would have treated an employee without disability".
Carpenter was paid 17,200 pounds by the club in 2015 after a winning a case of unfair dismissal at an employment tribunal.
As well as the FA fine, the club's staff members close to the case are required to undertake an education programme.
The Women's Super League season was ended this week because of the coronavirus pandemic and there are fears that some clubs could suffer financially as a result. The Commission, however, said that was not a reason to reduce the size of the fine.
"We accept the likelihood of a sharp economic downturn in the coming months but we are not persuaded on the available evidence that such a downturn will have such an impact on the Club that it cannot pay an appropriate fine," it said.
($1 = 0.8183 pounds)
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris)
