Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic’s violent conduct ban has been reduced from three games to two, but he will still miss Sunday’s League Cup final.
The FA’s independent regulatory commission partially upheld an appeal lodged by Chelsea on Tuesday.
Matic, 26, was sent off in Saturday’s game against Burnley after reacting to a challenge from Ashley Barnes.
In a statement, Chelsea said they were “extremely disappointed and frustrated” that Matic must still serve a ban.
Matic will miss this weekend’s League Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley and next week’s league match at West Ham United, on Wednesday 4 March.
A statement on Chelsea’s website, published under the headline ‘Chelsea FC appalled with the FA’s decision on Matic’ said the board was unhappy that the commission decided against reducing the ban by the “maximum extent permitted under FA rules”.
It added: “There has been universal condemnation of the reckless challenge made by Ashley Barnes on Matic and it is the club’s view that he has been unjustly punished with a two-match ban for his reaction to a career-threatening tackle.”
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