Tottenham 'shocked' after Summanen is banned for simulation
Tottenham ‘shocked’ after Eveliina Summanen is handed a two-match ban for simulation… with Spurs raising doubts over consistency in rules between the men’s and women’s game
- Evelina Summanen held her face on the floor after Toone pushed her on shoulder
- Manchester United forward Toone was then sent off but later had it rescinded
- Now the Tottenham midfielder has been suspended for their next two games
Tottenham are understood to be shocked and disappointed at the decision to uphold Eveliina Summanen’s two-game ban for ‘successful deception of a match official’.
Summanen received the improper conduct charge from the Football Association after she allegedly committed a ‘clear act of simulation’, which resulted in Manchester United’s Ella Toone being sent off on February 12.
The incident occurred in the 80th minute when Toone pushed Summanen in the shoulder in reaction to a previous challenge, leading referee Amy Fearn to brandish a red card.
But Summanen, who held her face following the contact from Toone, was accused of ‘play-acting’ by United boss Marc Skinner.
‘It was play-acting in my opinion, there’s no need to roll around holding your face,’ Skinner said after the game. ‘You want to see passion for your club, it’s a foul, probably a yellow card.
Tottenham midfielder Eveliina Summanen has been handed a two-match suspension
The Spurs midfielder (right) was involved in an off-the-ball tussle with Man United’s Ella Toone (left) during their WSL encounter earlier this month, with Toone’s red now chalked off
‘But you just don’t need to roll around holding your face, that’s the part of the game I don’t want to come into our game. It’s a clear push on a shoulder. It’s just not a good sign from me.’
The Spurs midfielder denied the charge of improper conduct but an Independent Regulatory Commission upheld the decision.
Tottenham, who are awaiting the commission’s written reasoning, are in full support of their player and do not believe she acted inappropriately.
Sportsmail understands the club also feel that there are inconsistencies in how rules relating to improper conduct are applied across competitions in the men’s and women’s games.
Toone herself tweeted after the game: ‘Pride myself on the passion and love I have when playing for this club.
‘Hold my hands up for my reaction and I’ll learn from it. Proud of the team.’
Summanen, a key player for Tottenham, will miss this weekend’s FA Cup fifth-round tie with Reading and next month’s league game against Manchester City.
Toone’s red card was later rescinded as Summanen was accused of ‘simulation’ and banned
The offence of deceiving a match official was brought into football ahead of the 2017-18 season.
The official law states: ‘Where there is clear and overwhelming evidence to suggest a match official has been deceived by an act of simulation, and as a direct result, the offending player’s team has been awarded a penalty and/or an opposing player has been dismissed, The FA will be able to act retrospectively under its Fast Track system.
‘A panel consisting of one ex-match official, one ex-manager and one ex-player will be asked to review all available video footage of the incident independently of one another and then advise The FA as to whether they believe it was an offence of ‘Successful Deception of a Match Official’.
‘Only in circumstances where the panel are unanimous would The FA charge the individual concerned.’
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