Action taken following controversial moment in Birmingham City’s defeat to Wigan Athletic

Birmingham City striker Lukas Jutkiewicz has been hit with a two-game suspension for ‘deception of a match official’ in the recent defeat to Wigan Athletic.

The 33-year-old was at the centre of a controversial moment when he ran through early on and fell to the ground despite no contact from Latics defender Joe Bennett.

However, the official thought Jutkiewicz had been tripped, meaning the left-back was sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity.

Replays proved that there was no touch from Bennett, so the former Cardiff City man had his red card rescinded on appeal, whilst Blues announced this afternoon that Jutkiewicz has been banned.

“The striker was charged with a breach of FA Rule 3, deception of a match official, during the Sky Bet Championship fixture against Wigan Athletic at St. Andrew’s. An independent Regulatory Commission have found the charge against him to be proven and imposed this sanction during a hearing.”

That means Joh Eustace will have to do without the target man for the weekend clash against Rotherham and the home fixture with Norwich just days later.

The verdict

Given the amount of simulation we see in football today you can understand why Blues may be frustrated that they will miss a player.

But, the rules are clear. If you benefit from deceiving an official, which Birmingham did through Bennett’s red card, then a two-game ban will follow, and there’s no denying that Jutkiewicz was not fouled.

So, this is the right call and hopefully it’s not something we will see from the player again.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.

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