Wilshere Contests Ban For Gesture

Source: thewillnigeria.com

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere has admitted a Football Association charge over an abusive hand gesture but will contest a mandatory two-game ban. Television pictures appeared to show the Gunners midfielder, 21, raising a finger towards the crowd during the 6-3 defeat by Manchester City. The incident went unnoticed by match officials but was caught on video and assessed by the FA retrospectively. His case will be heard by a commission on Thursday. If the suspension is upheld, the England international will miss the meeting with Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on 23 December and the Boxing Day fixture at West Ham. Wilshere appeared to raise a finger towards the crowd on 68 minutes after disagreeing with a decision to award City a goal kick at Etihad Stadium. Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said after the match: "If he did it and he is banned then we will have to accept it." On Tuesday an FA statement said: "Jack Wilshere has been charged retrospectively by the FA under a new pilot project for potential 'not seen' incidents in Premier League matches. "Under the new process, if an incident has not been seen by the match officials, a three-man panel will be asked by the FA to review it and advise what, if any action, they believe the match referee should have taken had it been witnessed at the time. "For an FA charge to follow, all three panel members must agree it is a sending-off offence. In this instance the panel was unanimous." Liverpool striker Luis Suarez was suspended for one match, fined £20,000 and warned as to his future conduct after admitting an FA charge of improper conduct in 2011. Suarez, 26, raised the middle finger of his left hand as he walked off the pitch following a 1-0 defeat at Fulham. BBC SPORT