Dembele in dock; Chelsea, Spurs charged
Tottenham midfielder Mousa Dembele looks to be facing a lengthy ban after the Football Association charged him with violent conduct and said a standard three-game suspension “is clearly insufficient.”
The FA has also charged Chelsea and Tottenham with failing to control their players and officials after the tempestuous 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge on Monday.
Dembele appeared to try to scratch the eye of Chelsea striker Diego Costa in a confrontation shortly before half-time.
The match — the result of which confirmed Leicester City as the new Premier League champions — was marred by a series of confrontations between players from both teams.
It saw referee Mark Clattenburg book 12 players while there were two brawls, in which players and coaches were involved, as Chelsea came back from two goals down.
Nine of those bookings went to Spurs players — the most collected by a single team in one game in Premier League history.
Dembele has until 6 p.m. on Thursday to respond to the charge, while the clubs have until 6 p.m. on Monday, May 9, to do so.
With Spurs only having two Premier League games left, Dembele looks set to miss the start of next season.
The FA statement said: “Both Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have been charged for three breaches of FA Rule E20 for failing to control their players and/or officials.
“It follows incidents which occurred in the 45th and 87th minutes and also at the end of the game at Stamford Bridge.
“Mousa Dembele has been charged for an alleged act of violent conduct which was not seen by the match officials but caught on video during the same game.
“Further, it is alleged the player’s behaviour constituted violent conduct in circumstances where the standard punishment of three matches that would otherwise apply is clearly insufficient.”
No other players have so far been charged individually for incidents during the game.
