PFA upset as Chelsea's Hazard faces extended ban for ball boy incident
The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) has criticised the Football Association (FA) after Eden Hazard was left facing an extend ban after clashing with a ball boy during Chelsea’s Capital One Cup semi-final against Swansea City in midweek, the Daily Mirror has reported.
In a statement, the FA announced they were charging Hazard with violent conduct but added that the normal three-game ban was not felt to be sufficient, which means the Belgium international could be suspended for an extra game or possibly two.
The chief executive of the PFA, Gordon Taylor, believes the FA have gone too far in their attempt to punish Hazard. He said: “I am amazed. I just feel, ‘Why are they doing this?’ This is over-egging it - a sledgehammer to crack a nut when there is a process already agreed.
“"There is a need to be careful and proportionate. To miss three games, as Hazard will do, in addition to feeling bad about letting his teammates down and leaving the pitch at that time - and then for the FA to rub it in? That’s really rubbing salt into the wound, isn’t it?”
The Mirror adds that the FA department responsible for deciding what action to take had reviewed footage of the incident and felt Hazard was in the wrong. He has until Tuesday evening to respond to the FA’s charge.
An independent panel will decide whether or not to give Hazard the additional suspension, with a three-man team to listen to the case put forth by the FA, while Chelsea will argue the opposite corner.
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