The Aston Villa striker Jhon Durán has been charged by the Football Association with improper conduct for his reaction to his sending-off at Newcastle on Boxing Day. The 21-year-old was shown a straight red card after being adjudged to have stamped on the defender Fabian Schär during the first half of the 3-0 defeat.
Villa were unsuccessful in an appeal against the decision, and salt has now been rubbed in the wound with the additional charge. Durán has until Friday to respond.
A statement on the FA spokesperson feed on X read: “It’s alleged that the Aston Villa forward acted in an improper manner in the 32nd minute of the fixture, after being sent off.” The Colombian reacted with disbelief to the decision, protesting and needing to be escorted off the pitch before kicking out at a water bottle in frustration.
Unai Emery was also unhappy with the dismissal, saying: “His reaction after with the player over him was ‘sorry, sorry’. Then we can try to analyse if he kicked him or not. I think he didn’t kick him on purpose. Of course we are going to appeal and hopefully it’s not three matches because it’s a very big punishment for this action.”
Durán sat out Monday’s 2-2 draw with Brighton and will miss at least the Premier League game with Leicester on Saturday and the FA Cup tie against West Ham on 10 January, while he could now face further punishment.
Durán’s absence is a big blow for Villa, having scored 12 goals this season and become Emery’s first-choice striker.
