Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic charged with violent conduct after clash with Wigan’s Shaun Maloney
Branislav Ivanovic was charged with violent conduct for an alleged punch in Chelsea’s 2-1 win against Wigan and, if found guilty, will miss three matches, including Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against T*ttenham.
Referee Mike Jones studied video footage of the off-the-ball incident, in which Ivanovic appeared to strike Wigan’s Shaun Maloney in the body, and confirmed yesterday to the FA that he regarded the incident as sufficiently serious to warrant investigation. Ivanovic has until 6pm today to respond to the charge.
Any appeal would be held tomorrow under the FA’s fast-track disciplinary procedure, meaning there is no question of Chelsea being able to delay any decision until after Sunday’s match against T*ttenham.
The absence of Ivanovic from Premier League matches against Arsenal and QPR, as well as the FA Cup semi-final, would be especially badly timed for Chelsea given that John Terry has been playing with two cracked ribs.