Jonjo Shelvey handed five-game ban for racial abuse charge
The former Swansea player has also been fined £100,000 by the Football Association
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Newcastle’s Jonjo Shelvey has been handed a five-game ban and fined £100,000 after a Football Association misconduct charge against him was found proven.
The former Swansea player, who appealed the initial charge in November, was found guilty by an Independent Regulatory Commission of using racially abusive language against Wolves defender Romain Saiss on 17 September 2016.
The 24-year-old has also been ordered to attend an FA education course.
The FA confirmed that the player now has seven days to challenge the hearing's decision: “The sanction has been set aside pending consideration for an appeal.
"Any appeal must be lodged within seven days from receipt of written reasons which will be produced in due course.”
Should Shelvey prove unsuccessful in his appeal, the midfielder will miss Newcastle’s next five games, including fixtures against Sheffield Wednesday, Nottingham Forest and Blackburn.
In a written statement released after the hearing, Newcastle said: "The club and the player will await the FA's written reasons before making any further comment on this matter."
The incident in question was alleged to have taken place in the 87th minute of Newcastle's Championship match against Wolves at St James' Park.
Although Shelvey's comments toward Saiss were initially missed by the match officials, later allegations of racial abuse were raised against the midfielder.
The breach, according to the FA's charge, related to Rule E3(1), and was an "Aggravated Breach as defined in Rule E3(2), as it included reference to ethnic origin and/or race and/or nationality".
FA guidelines, which were revised in 2013, state any player found guilty of racial abuse or discriminating on religion, sexuality or disability, should be banned for at least five games.
Chelsea's John Terry was handed a four-match ban and £220,000 for racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand in September 2012.
One year prior to that, former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez picked up an eight-match suspension and a £40,000 fine for his abuse of Manchester United's Patrice Evra.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments