Bournemouth have reacted furiously to the news that Tyrone Mings has been given a five-match ban after being found guilty of violent conduct following an incident involving Zlatan Ibrahimovic during Saturday’s tempestuous 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.
Mings’ left boot landed on the back of Ibrahimovic’s head while the Manchester United striker was on the floor in an incident that was not seen at the time by Kevin Friend, the referee, and which prompted the Football Association to charge the 23-year-old and argue that the standard three-match ban was “clearly insufficient”.
Ibrahimovic, who was also charged by the FA after elbowing Mings in the face in another flashpoint that Friend missed, accepted a three-match ban on Tuesday.
Bournemouth, however, clearly feel that Mings has been dealt with unfairly and issued a strongly worded statement in which they described it as “extraordinary” that an independent regulatory commission could find the central defender guilty without any evidence to prove that his actions were intentional. “AFC Bournemouth are extremely disappointed with the FA Regulatory Commission’s decision to find Tyrone Mings guilty of the charges against him and impose a five-game suspension, following Saturday’s incident at Old Trafford involving Zlatan Ibrahimovic,” the statement said.
“We will study the detailed reasons of the commission once they become available but find it extraordinary that the charges can be described as ‘proven’ when there is absolutely no evidence to prove the incident was intentional. It is our strongly held belief – backed up by our relationship with the player, and knowledge of his background and character –that it was an accidental collision.
“Tyrone twice apologised to Ibrahimovic during the match for the accidental collision and also reiterated that there was no intent straight after the final whistle in a series of television interviews. We fully support our player. Tyrone has an excellent disciplinary record and has not been sent off in 75 matches as a professional. During that time he has only received 13 yellow cards – the last of which came in April 2015.”
Mings will now be unavailable for more than a month and will miss Bournemouth’s Premier League matches against West Ham, Swansea, Southampton, Liverpool and Chelsea.