Frank Lampard must fear a sanction from the FA. The Everton coach has been charged by the association for statements he made a week and a half ago after the 2-0 defeat against city rivals Liverpool. Lampard insinuated that Everton was penalized by the arbitration because it is not a top club. In doing so, he questioned the integrity of the referees, argues the FA.
Midway through the first half, Everton’s left winger Anthony Gordon went to the grass in the box after an attempt by Naby Keita to win the ball. It gave Gordon a yellow card for an alleged schwalbe. Seven minutes after the break, Gordon wanted another penalty, this time after an alleged foul by Joël Matip. He did indeed get a push from Matip, but referee Stuart Attwell saw no reason to award a penalty. He also did not give a second card to Gordon. The video arbitration saw no reason to call Attwell to the side to review the footage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeWAD4BQuFA
The contact between Anthony Gordon and Joël Matip can be seen (after clicking through to YouTube) from minute 6:00.
Lampard expressed his dissatisfaction with the conduct of the arbitration afterwards. “For me it’s a penalty. You don’t get it here,” said the trainer in his interview afterwards. “If it was Mohamed Salah on the other side, he would have gotten the penalty. I’m not trying to create a conflict, it’s just the reality of football. I’ve played football for teams in the top half of the league. That’s where you get it penalty kicks. This was clearly a penalty, it was a clear foul.”
The FA does not appreciate those comments. “Frank Lampard has been charged with violating FA rule E3 in relation to his media exposure following Everton’s Premier League game against Liverpool on Sunday, April 24,” the Football Association said in a statement. The rule cited by the FA concerns ‘displaying a bias and/or the integrity of the umpire or the arbitration in general’. Lampard has until Monday to respond to the charges. Then he will be told a possible punishment.
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