Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso has been handed a three-match ban following his challenge on Southampton’s Shane Long last weekend, the football Association has announced.
The left wing-back appeared to stand on the back of Long’s leg during their Premier League game on Saturday and the incident went unpunished by referee Mike Dean.
The FA confirmed Alonso had denied the violent conduct charge and “further submitted that if found proven the suspension would be excessive”. He was found guilty at his Independent Regulatory Commission hearing on Wednesday.
Alonso is now ruled out of Thursday night’s Premier League game at Burnley, Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against the Saints and also the league trip to Swansea on April 28.
An FA statement on Thursday morning read: “Marcos Alonso will miss Chelsea’s next three matches after an Independent Regulatory Commission ruled he had committed an act of violent conduct against Southampton’s Shane Long.
“Alonso denied the charge and further submitted that if found proven the suspension would be excessive, however, this was rejected following Wednesday’s hearing.
“The incident, which was not seen by the match officials but caught on video, occurred in the 43rd minute of Saturday’s game (14/04/18).”
The 27-year-old defender was on Wednesday named in the Professional footballers’ Association’s Premier League team of the year – the only representative from Chelsea.
