Reece James charged for using abusive language towards ref despite being injured
Chelsea captain Reece James has been slapped with a charge of allegedly using abusive language towards an official, despite not being involved in the fixture.
The incident is claimed to have happened following Chelsea's 1-0 home defeat to Aston Villa, which saw Ollie Watkins score a second-half winner for the visitors. The goal came following referee Jarred Gillett's decision to give defender Malo Gusto a straight red card for a foul on Lucas Digne.
James wasn't included in the squad as he continues his recovery from injury, but has been charged with using 'improper, insulting or abusive words' to an official in the tunnel after the final whistle. A statement from the Football Association reads: " Reece James has been charged with a breach of FA Rule E3 following Chelsea's Premier League game against Aston Villa on Sunday, 24 September.
"It's alleged that the defender used improper and/or insulting and/or abusive words and/or behaviour towards a match official in the tunnel after the game. Reece James has until Friday, 29 September, to provide a response to this charge."
James, 23, was named Chelsea skipper by Maurcio Pochettino at the start of the season, but has thus far managed to play just one Premier League match. After starting the opener against Liverpool, the England defender suffered hamstring injury which has now kept him out for over a month.
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He is now back at the grass at Chelsea's Cobham training ground, but has pleaded for patience to make sure he is fully healed before returning. However, it now remains to be seen whether he could be hit with a ban for the latest clampdown of behaviour towards officials.
Reece James hasn't featured for Chelsea since the first game of the seasonLiverpool defender Virgil van Dijk was charged under FA Rule E3.1 last month, for his reaction to a red card during their win over Newcastle. After accepting he had made an error of judgement, his one-game suspension was doubled by the FA.
James' return to the picture is desperately needed, particularly with his replacement Gusto now facing his own spell on the sidelines. The Frenchman was given his marching orders for an ugly looking tackle on Digne, with his initial yellow upgraded to red following a VAR check.
Pochettino refused to point the blame at Gusto and said he backed the final decision, despite watching his side slump to another defeat, their third in six Premier League matches. "It was in front of me but I didn’t see it, so I cannot say it wasn’t a red card," he explained.
"We need to trust the referee and the VAR and we cannot go back and change the decision, we need to accept that. It’s the player’s responsibility, we cannot blame the referee or the VAR. In this situation we need to act in a different way.
"I’m not going to blame or say anything against Malo Gusto, because sometimes these situations happen in football, but of course the situation affected the team and the game in a negative way."
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