Chelsea star Pedro Neto banned and fined over ‘misconduct’ during game | Football | Sport

The FA have confirmed an additional one-match ban for Pedro Neto for “misconduct” following the Chelsea winger’s dismissal in the loss to Arsenal earlier this month. Neto received his marching orders after collecting two yellow cards in rapid succession during the Blues’ 2-1 defeat to the Gunners at the Emirates.

The Portugal international allegedly behaved in an “improper manner” by “failing to leave the pitch promptly and/or using abusive words towards the match official/s”. Neto has since accepted the charge levelled against him.

A statement from an FA spokesperson said: “Pedro Neto has been given a one-match suspension and a £70,000 fine for misconduct that occurred after he was sent off in Chelsea’s Premier League match against Arsenal on Sunday, March 1.

“It was alleged that the player acted in an improper manner by failing to leave the pitch promptly and/or using abusive words towards the match official/s following his dismissal in the 70th minute.”

Pedro Neto subsequently admitted the charge against him. An independent Regulatory Commission imposed these sanctions following a hearing, and the written reasons for its decisions will be published in due course.

Neto will sit out Chelsea’s Premier League clash with Newcastle at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening, despite having already served a one-match suspension in the victory over Aston Villa last week.

The Blues winger is also under investigation by UEFA after he pushed a ball boy during his team’s defeat to Paris Saint-Germain. In the second half, Neto shoved the ball boy out of frustration, attempting to retrieve the ball.

He apologised to the lad at full-time at Parc des Princes, but Liam Rosenior conceded during Friday’s pre-Newcastle press conference that it was not a good look. Rosenior stated: “I’ve seen the incident back now, it doesn’t look good in terms of… I understand Pedro’s perspective. He wants to get the ball back in play as quickly as possible, he wants to win for the club.

“There are ways you go about it. What I was so impressed with him was, and it was his idea, he wanted to apologise straight away. Like I’ve just said, whether it’s a goalkeeper, whether it’s me as the manager or a player, we make mistakes. It’s about learning from those mistakes and making sure they don’t happen again.”