Jonjo Shelvey didn't have a great time against his former club when Swansea City went to Anfield to play Liverpool on Monday. The often-excitable midfielder got a little too edgy facing Liverpool at his old stomping grounds, giving away several rash fouls and turning out responsible for an own goal that killed any chance Swansea had of getting back into an eventual 4-1 loss.
Jonjo Shelvey handed 4-match ban
Swansea City midfielder Jonjo Shelvey has been suspended four games for a swung elbow, his second violent-conduct suspension of the season.
Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Now Shelvey's going to miss the next four matches, thanks to swinging his elbow at the head of Emre Can during the match. The incident wasn't seen by the match referee, but the FA's disciplinary committee saw it and felt they had to act, despite Shelvey's Twitter apology and claim of the blow being accidental. Shelvey was assessed with a retroactive red card for violent conduct and given an additional one-game ban over the standard three thanks to his sending off earlier in the season for another incidence of violent conduct.
Swansea City and Shelvey have "reluctantly" accepted the charge and suspension, though the case against the midfielder was stone solid. An appeal likely only would have served to lengthen the ban, so Shelvey will immediately start serving his four matches. He'll miss an away match against Queens Park Rangers, an FA Cup match against Tranmere Rovers, then a pair of much tougher matches against West Ham and Chelsea.
Another incident from the same game, Raheem Sterling’s blow to Federico Fernandez during a late scuffle, was declared unreviewable by the FA as the match referee saw and “dealt with” the issue despite not assessing a foul or giving a yellow card.
See More:
