This was always likely to happen.
On Monday the FA charged Tottenham Hotspur’s Moussa Sissoko with violent conduct after he caught Bournemouth’s midfielder Harry Arter in the face with his elbow during the 0-0 draw at the Vitality stadium on Saturday.
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Sissoko, 27, was a second half sub for Mauricio Pochettino’s side but he will now miss the EFL Cup game against Liverpool and the Premier League games against Leicester City and Arsenal after Tottenham accepted the charge.
In a brief statement on their website the FA said the following about Sissoko’s charge:Moussa Sissoko has been charged for an alleged act of violent conduct which was not seen by the match officials but caught on video. The Tottenham Hotspur forward was involved in an incident with AFC Bournemouth’s Harry Arter in the 79th minute of the game on Saturday [22 October 2016].
He has until 6pm on Tuesday 25 October to reply. Off the ball incidents which are not seen at the time by the match officials are referred to a panel of three former elite match officials. Each panel member will review the video footage independently of one another to determine whether they consider it a sending-off offence.
For retrospective action to be taken, and an FA charge to follow, the decision of the panel must be unanimous.
Speaking on Monday, Spurs boss Pochettino revealed that the club had accepted charge and must now move on for the next three games without Sissoko.
“We accept that as a club after viewing the video. We accept the charge and now we move forward,” Pochettino said. “After the game it was difficult. When you asked me, it was difficult for me to appreciate the situation on what happened on the action. Then when it was on TV, I need to say that it wasn’t the intention, but the elbow was in the face of [Harry] Arter. It was clear. We accept the charge and now we are set to move forward and he has to miss three games.”
Sissoko’s actions were played down my Arter after the game but the French international who joined on Transfer Deadline Day from Newcastle United will now have to sit out some huge games in the next 10 days.
With the referees not spotting the incident, the TV footage was always going to be used and it was pretty damning as Sissoko drove his elbow into Arter’s face off the ball.