LEEDS STRIKER PATRICK Bamford will miss the Championship play-off semi-final first leg, after he received an immediate two-match ban, having being found guilty of a charge of “successful deception of a match official”, the Football Association announced on Thursday.
During a fiery recent Championship encounter with Aston Villa, Anwar El Ghazi was sent off after appearing to hit Bamford on the face, though replays revealed the 25-year-old dived.
Leeds contested the decision, but the Football Association confirmed today that their appeal had been rejected, meaning he will miss their match with Ipswich as well as the upcoming play-off encounter.
El Ghazi’s red card was also rescinded.
In a statement, the FA said Bamford denied the charge but Leeds countered, saying they had asked for a “sensible sanction” after manager Marcelo Bielsa had allowed Villa to score in response to Leeds netting while one of their players, Jonathan Kodjia, was injured.
“Whilst Patrick Bamford did not deny the charge of successful deception of a match official following our Sky Bet Championship game against Aston Villa on Sunday, the club did request a hearing to contest the penalty imposed on the player.
“The club felt that given the circumstances surrounding the incident, including the extraordinary act of sportsmanship which saw our head coach Marcelo Bielsa demand our team to allow Aston Villa to score an uncontested equaliser, we could have a sensible discussion around the sanction.
“We acknowledge that the FA panel did not feel that to be reasonable and the club therefore joins Patrick in accepting the two-match ban.
“Bamford will miss our final game of the 2018/19 campaign away to Ipswich Town as well as the first leg of our Play-Off semi-final.”
Bamford has been heavily linked with an Ireland call-up of late and is expected to officially declare for the Boys in Green once this season finishes.
Meanwhile, the dates for the play-off encounters were confirmed earlier today. The first legs will take place on 11 May, the A game kicking off at 12.30 and the B game at 17.15.
The second legs for the A and B matches will be on 14 and 15 May respectively, with a 19.45 kick-off on both occasions.
The final takes place on 27 May, with a 15.00 kick-off. The team that finishes third will face sixth, and fourth will play fifth in the semis.
Aston Villa, West Brom and Leeds have guaranteed their spots, while Derby, Middlesbrough and Bristol City are still in contention for the final spot, with Frank Lampard’s men currently in pole position going into the final weekend.
Additional reporting by AFP
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