Saturday’s early kick off in the Premier League saw Manchester United take on Bournemouth at Old Trafford in a match which saw the FA take retrospective action on two players from both clubs.
Manchester United were looking to close the gap on the top 4 and a win would have seen them rise to 4th ahead of Liverpool and Arsenal, who were playing later that evening. Bournemouth themselves needed a win to keep them away from the relegation battle after 4 straight defeats.
The game began well, with United having most of the possession being at home and they took the lead after 23 minutes when an Antonio Valencia wayward shot was diverted into the net by Marcos Rojo.
United tried to score a 2nd but were surprised when Joshua King converted a penalty after Phil Jones brought down Danny Pugh in the area. The game was dominated by United but with no prevail and near the close of the first half, Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Bournemouth’s Tyrone Mings were at the centre of two incidents.
The first took place in Bournemouth’s half when Ibrahimovic was brought down and Tyrone Mings landed a foot on the side of Ibrahimovic’s head. The referee, Kevin Friend, missed the incident just as he did the second. A corner came in for Manchester United and the ball was aimed towards Ibrahimovic who went up for the header with Tyrone Mings but the header was missed and Ibrahimovic’s elbow struck Mings in the face.
Whilst both teams were arguing, Referee Kevin Friend booked Andrew Surman of Bournemouth but quickly realised he had already booked him. Surman was then sent off for a second bookable offence leaving Bournemouth with 10 men. No cards were produced to Mings or Ibrahimovic.
Manchester United had their chances in the second half but were unable to beat Artur Boruc in goal, not even Ibrahimovic who had a penalty saved for a handball from Adam Smith. The game ended 1 – 1 which was a great pint for Bournemouth but a hugely missed opportunity for Manchester United.
The FA released a statement today which read “The players were involved in two separate incidents in or around the 44th minute which were not seen by the match officials at the time but caught on video”.
In regards to Mings’s stamp, the FA said “Furthermore, the FA has submitted a claim that the standard punishment that would otherwise apply for the misconduct committed by the Bournemouth defender is ‘clearly insufficient’.”
Now with the FA charging both Ibrahimovic and Mings for violent conduct, both players could be missing for a few games and neither side can really afford to be without key players at such a stage of the season.
Both clubs and players have until Tuesday 6pm to appeal the charges.
