The 31-year-old midfielder has been given a four-match ban for an incident in which he appeared to grab the shirt of Stoke’s Joe Allen with his teeth.
Derby midfielder Bradley Johnson has been hit with a four-game ban for an alleged biting incident involving Stoke City’s Joe Allen.
During the Championship match on Wednesday night, the 31-year-old appeared to have grabbed Allen’s shirt with his teeth in a scuffle after Stoke’s Oghenekaro Etebo was sent off.
Johnson will miss five games in total because he was already suspended for Saturday’s home game against Swansea City in after accumulating five bookings this season.
The former Norwich City man will also be unavailable for Derby’s upcoming games against Wigan Athletic, Nottingham Forest, Bristol City and Sheffield United.
A Football Association statement – quoted by multiple news sources including Sky Sports News – said that Johnson, who denied the charge, was “found to have committed an act of violent conduct for which the standard punishment would be clearly insufficient”.
The incident – which saw both players booked by referee Darren England – “was not seen by the match officials but caught on camera”, the FA added.
Allen defended Johnson after the match, telling BBC Sport that he had not been bitten, while Derby said they will be conducting an internal disciplinary hearing in relation to the matter.
“Derby County does not expect, nor condone, any of its players to behave in the manner witnessed in the incident on Wednesday evening,” the club said in a statement on their official website.
Following the ruling and Derby’s statement, a number of Rams fans took to Twitter to voice their opinions, with some criticising Johnson:
Others, meanwhile, were unhappy with the decision:
Johnson has made 123 appearances for the Rams since arriving from Norwich in 2015, scoring 12 goals and registering 12 assists, according to Transfermarkt.
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