Robert Huth and Marouane Fellaini have both been slapped with three-match bans following their altercation when Leicester City visited Old Trafford last Sunday. Meanwhile, Moussa Dembele of Spurs was issued a three-match ban too for his actions during his side’s title-deciding game against Chelsea.
An FA panel, comprising of three former elite referees, decided to issue a three-match ban to Leicester’s Robert Huth and Manchester United’s Marouane Fellaini with both being charged for violent conduct. The punishment was issued following a nasty altercation between the two players that started with Huth pulling Fellaini’s hair to which the Belgian reacted by elbowing the German defender in the face.
While the incident went unnoticed by the match officials during the game, a decision was reached on the matter after the FA reviewed video evidence. The ban means both the players are ruled out for the remainder of their respective side’s league campaigns. While that effectively is the end of the season for Robert Huth, Fellaini will be eligible to lineup for the Red Devils in the FA Cup final vs Crystal Palace on May 21st.
Both players accepted the decision, but Huth did argue about the ban being “clearly excessive” given the nature of his actions compared to that of Fellaini’s. It was an argument the FA’s independent regulatory commission unanimously disagreed about.
The managers of both the clubs have defended the actions of their respective players during the feisty encounter at Old Trafford. Louise Van Gaal raised a few eyebrows with his statement of support for the Belgian when he said, “It’s not in the books that someone has to grab by the hair and then pull it behind – only in sex masochism”
In his press conference today, he was quoted as saying, “When the FA give Huth a suspension of three matches, then they admit it was a penalty. For us it is very disappointing that the referee was not seeing the fact.”
Meanwhile Claudio Ranieri claimed Fellaini’s reaction was far worse than a mere provocation from his German center-back. The Italian will be without Huth and Drinkwater on Saturday when Leicester take the field for the first time as Premier League Champions.
Mousa Dembele in rough waters after ‘eye-gouging’ Diego Costa
Tottenham’s visit to Stamford Bridge was a London derby with Premier League title implications. And it set the scene for a hotly contested encounter that saw its fair share of controversies and bust-ups throughout the game. What was initially a tussle between Willian and Danny Rose spiraled into veritable mayhem at the team dugouts. In the heat of the moment, Belgian Mousa Dembele, in an argument with Diego Costa, was caught eye-gouging the striker in an action that has had the FA charge the Spurs midfielder with violent conduct.
The FA said the nature of Dembele’s violence was such that even the standard three-game suspension was “clearly insufficient” which means the midfielder could be slapped with a lengthy ban. An act that missed the eyes of Mark Clattenburg and his officials, Dembele has until today to appeal the FA’s charge.
