Exeter City FC

The FA hands out disciplinary points to clubs based on yellow and red cards accrued for punishable offences in matches.  Yellow cards for any offence are punished with 4 points, red cards for denial of goalscoring opportunities or a second caution were met with 10 points, and dismissals for violent conduct, serious foul play, spitting or offensive and abusive language earned clubs 12 disciplinary points.

Between the 92 Premier League and Football League clubs, there was no greater margin between two teams than the 38-point gap between Exeter City at the pinnacle of the table and Walsall in second.  Exeter’s table-topping feat may be judged all the more remarkable as it is based on a 46-game Football League season, whereas Premier League sides play eight games fewer.

With just 39 yellows and a single red all season, the Grecians were one of just two clubs to have averaged less than one card per game.

It is not the only time that the club have finished top of the pile for 2013/14.  The club’s under-18 team claimed its first ever league title by winning the Youth Alliance South West division.

Julian Tagg, Exeter City’s Vice Chairman and Executive Director Football & Academy, said: “To finish top of the FA’s Fair Play league and by such a distance is a real testament to the work that has been put into creating a positive culture at this football club, from the senior professionals right down to the youngest academy players.

“This is not something that has happened by chance, nor has it happened overnight.  We have been building a reputation over many years as a club that is trying to buck the trend.

“It is not always readily apparent what the benefits are of playing in the right spirit, as there isn’t any obvious correlation between those clubs that have been successful this year and where they finished in the Fair Play league.

“However it is no surprise that our young players have thrived this year – we have had league success at under-18 level, our under-21 side reached the quarter-final of the Under-21 Premier League Cup by outclassing clubs with much bigger reputations, and our homegrown players have become the spine of our first-team.

“We want to win every single match, and we believe that we can translate success to the first-team by sticking to our principles and helping every player that comes into the club to get the most from their potential.

“So to finish at the top of the Fair Play league is something that we should take immense pride in, and I feel that it will be conducive to success in the longer term.”