Millwall say they are "shocked and disappointed" by the FA's decision to charge them over the trouble that flared during last month's Carling Cup tie with West Ham United at Upton Park.
West Ham have also been charged, but say they will review the case against them before making a formal response.
In an unprecedented move, the FA has decided the clubs each have a case to answer on allegations of racism by their supporters, as well as a raft of other charges. The gravity of the seven charges - West Ham face four and Millwall three -appears to reflect a desire within the governing body to stamp out a growing number of crowd problems this season. If the clubs are found guilty they face the prospect of heavy fines or being forced, under Fifa guidelines, to play matches behind closed doors.
There was severe crowd trouble before, during and after the tie, with a Millwall season ticket-holder stabbed, three pitch invasions and 13 arrests. Damage was caused to about 200 seats in the away end of the ground.
Millwall have responded to the charges by claiming that not only did they do everything in their power to prevent trouble on the night, but that the behaviour of their supporters was beyond reproach.
"Millwall Football Club are shocked and disappointed that charges have been profferred against us in respect of events that took place at West Ham United on Tuesday 25th August 2009," a statement from Millwall said. "We maintain that we did everything in our power with regard to our ticketing arrangements for this game. Furthermore we expressed our concerns in advance about ticket allocations and arrangements in general.
"It was widely acknowledged that none of our supporters came onto the pitch, and indeed the behaviour and forbearance of our fans brought praise from media observers on the night. Our question for the Football Association is what can Millwall Football Club do to control individuals' actions once inside our opponents' stadium? We have, and we continue to, assist the authorities in their investigations into the events of that evening. We will not make any further comment until we receive, from the Football Association, the evidence on which they are basing their case against us."
The FA is concerned about the claims from Carlton Cole, the West Ham forward, and Jason Price, his Millwall counterpart, that they suffered racial abuse during the tie at Upton Park on August 25.
West Ham responded to the charges by condemning the behaviour of a minority of their fans but claimed they followed strict police advice in the build-up to match.
"We are reviewing the FA charges and will respond accordingly," a West Ham United statement read. "In advance of the Millwall match, the club followed the strict advice of the police and relevant authorities at every stage of the planning process.
"That full cooperation continued on the night with the club working closely with police on a carefully set-out plan that was initiated and approved by the independent safety advisory group.
"We do acknowledge the appalling behaviour of a minority of fans inside the stadium and, in conjunction with the police, will continue to take strong and appropriate action against anyone found responsible."
Both West Ham, who travel to play Manchester City in the Barclays Premier League tonight, and Millwall, the Coca-Cola League one club, face three charges that they failed to ensure their supporters:
• Refrained from violent, threatening, obscene and provocative behaviour.
• Did not throw missiles, harmful or dangerous objects on to the pitch.
• Refrained from racist behaviour.
West Ham face the additional charge of failing to ensure that their supporters did not enter the field of play.
It is the second time that Millwall have faced such a charge. In 2004, they were fined £25,000 for failing to ensure that their spectators “refrained from racist and/or abusive behaviour” during a Carling Cup tie against Liverpool.
Millwall appealed and the FA appeals board found that the original tribunal had failed to apply its rules correctly and ignored or failed to give proper weight to defence evidence. The original charge came after Marvin Elliott, then of Millwall, and Djimi Traoré, then of Liverpool, clashed.
The FA was itself fined £70,000 by Uefa as punishment for the racist chanting and pitch invasions that marred England’s European Championship qualifying tie against Turkey at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland, in April 2003
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