SPORTS : English Soccer Official Suspended

LONDON — Brian Clough, manager of Nottingham Forest, was suspended for the rest of the season and fined a record $8,750 today by the English Football Assn. for hitting fans.

Clough, one of the country’s most outspoken soccer officials, was found guilty by a football committee of bringing the game into disrepute. Clough was charged following incidents after last month’s League Cup quarterfinal victory over the Queens Park Rangers. A television tape appeared to show him striking four spectators who encroached onto the field to celebrate Forest’s 5-2 victory.