Manchester United have until 6pm today to contest the charge of improper conduct brought against Rafael Da Silva yesterday, with the right-back facing a possible extension of his one-match for his dismissal against Spurs.
Yesterday’s statement by the FA confirmed that Rafael faced a charge relating to “the player’s conduct towards match official Mike Dean following his dismissal in Manchester United’s fixture at Tottenham.”
Dean included details of the player’s reaction to his decision to issue him a red card following a second bookable offence following an innocuous looking challenge on Benoit Assou-Ekotto.
Rafael will already miss the first of United’s two fixtures in the Gameweek, the Old Trafford clash with Birmingham. Should he be found guilty of this improper conduct charge he will receive either a warning, a fine or even an additional ban. That would see him sit out the trip to Blackpool and miss the entirety of United’s double Gameweek – at the very least.
While many print and online sources reported the charge yesterday, none committed to a likely punishment. The Telegraph have today stated that Rafael could face an additional one-match ban. Having spoken to the FA this morning, we can confirm that more than one match could be added to his existing suspension. The FA cited a recent example where Norwich defender Liam Barnett received an additional two-matches after he was charged with improper conduct for throwing the ball at the referee when dismissed in the clash with Portsmouth on December 11.
Owners of the full-back can only sit and wait for the verdict – the FA confirmed to us that we are likley to hear a verdict by this evening.
Given the circumstances surrounding the charge one would hope for leniency from the FA. An additional ban would be a major blow in Fantasy terms given the likelihood of returns from Rafael over the Gameweek. United would seem odds on to claim another shutout against Alex McLeish’s side a the weekend, while Rafael’s raiding runs on the right-flank could easily bring attacking rewards at Blackpool, even if Ian Holloway’s side breach the United back four.
John O’Shea would be favourite to step in at right-back in the absence of the Brazilian. He returned to reserve team action last week following a six-week absence with a calf injury. With Wes Brown out of favour and Gary Neville still licking his wounds from a roasting at West Brom, it would seem likely that Alex Ferguson will turn to O’Shea to fill the void.
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