Harry Maguire will miss Manchester United's trip to Chelsea after being handed an additional one-match ban by the Football Association for his reaction to being sent off at Bournemouth. The 33-year-old was shown a red card at the Vitality Stadium last month for a foul on Evanilson, with Eli Junior Kroupi scoring the resulting penalty as Bournemouth sealed a 2-2 draw.
Maguire missed Monday's 2-1 home defeat by Leeds due to the sending off, and the FA's written reasons confirmed the fourth official, Matthew Donohue, submitted an Extraordinary Incident Report Form, claiming Maguire shouted as he left the field: “You’re a joke. You’re all a fucking joke.” The United defender claimed he did not insult the fourth official, instead saying he said “something along the lines of ‘it is a fucking joke’.”
The FA said: “An independent Regulatory Commission has imposed a one-match suspension and £30,000 fine on Manchester United FC’s Harry Maguire. The defender was charged after being sent off in the 78th minute of their Premier League match against AFC Bournemouth on Friday 20 March. It was alleged that Harry Maguire acted in an improper manner and/or used abusive and/or insulting words and/or behaviour towards the fourth official following his dismissal. The defender subsequently admitted the charge.”
Maguire's fresh ban compounds the absence of fellow centre-backs Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martínez. De Ligt has not featured since November due to a back issue, while Martínez begins a three-match ban at Stamford Bridge after his red card against Leeds. The 28-year-old was dismissed for pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin's hair after the video assistant referee sent the referee to the monitor.
United head coach Michael Carrick was infuriated by a decision he called “one of the worst I’ve seen” and the club are said to have appealed against the ban. With Maguire, De Ligt and Martínez absent against Chelsea, the 19-year-old Ayden Heaven could line up alongside 20-year-old Leny Yoro at the heart of defence.
