The Football Association have handed out a three-match ban to West Bromwich Albion striker Brandon Thomas-Asante following an incident during their FA Cup third-round tie with Chesterfield.
Video footage showed the former Salford City and MK Dons forward striking an arm towards Spireites defender Jeff King during added time of the cup tie.
Details of the suspension were accidentally published on the Birmingham County FA website but later confirmed by West Brom.
The club statement was as follows:
‘Brandon Thomas-Asante has been suspended for three matches following a breach of FA Rule E1.1 in Saturday’s FA Cup third-round tie at Chesterfield.
The Football Association has issued a charge of violent conduct against the 24-year-old after reviewing an incident which took place in the 92nd minute of the 3-3 draw at the Technique Stadium. The club will not appeal the decision.
Thomas-Asante will be unavailable for selection in the Sky Bet Championship fixtures against Luton and Burnley, as well as the FA Cup replay against the Spireites.’
With debates sparking over the letter of the law when it comes to violent conduct, the FA must provide clarity if they are to dish out punishments for incidents like this.
Embed from Getty ImagesFA Rule E1.1 states that The Association may act against a Participant in respect of any “Misconduct”, which is
defined as being a breach of the following, the Laws of the Game, the Rules and Regulations of The Association,the Statutes and Regulations of UEFA, the Statutes and Regulations of FIFA, the rules or regulations of an Affiliated Association or Competition or an order, requirement, direction or instruction of The Association.
So what does that mean exactly?
The definition is loosely interpreted by the FA’s independent regulation panel, which analyses video footage from the particular offence.
But for supporters watching on, it seems slightly mysterious as to how the rule is imposed and what exactly defines misconduct.
In isolation, it might be justifiable, but the number of other calls of similar nature that are missed leaves questions of inconsistency to be raised.
— Louis Bent (@louisbent_) January 10, 2023
Three recent examples of E1.1 being used include Imran Louza, Dapo Afolayan and Sam Morsy, all within the last six months.#WBA https://t.co/Zmncp1sqNI
Misconduct, by dictionary definition, is ‘unacceptable or improper behaviour, especially by an employee or professional person.’
These incidents can also only be actioned when a match official does not take precedence over a particular decision.
Still, it seems slightly odious as to what comes under this particular law and which types of incidents are defined as such.
But we can learn something from previous E1.1 incidents.
It is a rule that has only been charged against three times in the past year, with Bolton Wanderers’ Dapo Afolayan, Watford’s Imran Louza and Ipswich Town’s Sam Morsy given punishments under the same law.
Afolayan’s ban was handed out for an elbow on Lincoln City’s Lasse Sorensen, which the Trotters forward denied, only to be overruled by the independent regulatory commission.
The incident was not ‘violent’ as the word misconduct would suggest and was an elbow similar to Thomas-Asante’s, yet the FA took action and handed him a three-match ban.
In the West Brom forward’s case, there appeared to be no violent intention, with Thomas-Asante not even looking at King when he struck the opponent.
It seemed to be a classic case of shrugging off an opponent, as the Chesterfield defender attempted to wrangle his way back into a goalside position.
But there is one key element as to why this incident was actioned against.
The BBC coverage of the elbow highlighted the incident, with pundit Danny Murphy keen to shed light on the act from Thomas-Asante – calling for the Baggies forward to be banned.
There seems to be a false distribution of the coverage, with Spireites striker Joe Quigley stamping on Semi Ajayi earlier in the match, which was not covered by the BBC.
Similar incidents involving former Liverpool forward Sadio Mane have gone unpunished by the FA during his time with the Reds.
The Senegalese international elbowed Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta but was ignored by the authorities despite probable intention from Mane.
How long will aerial challenges continue to be punished? All of these debates would be silenced if the FA were to clarify and add greater depth to their definition of on-the-pitch misconduct, rather than the vague idea cited in their rules.
It is something that should be prioritised, with smaller clubs seemingly targeted by these incidents rather than those with greater status in English football.
