Sunderland skipper set to miss Wembley final
FLEETWOOD DATE CHANGE SET TO COST HONEYMAN HIS PLACE
Sunderland’s upcoming trip to Fleetwood has been rearranged due to international call-ups - which means skipper George Honeyman is set to miss the Checkatrade Trophy final.
Originally scheduled to be played on Saturday, March 23, the trip to Highbury Stadium will now take place on Tuesday, April 30 at 7.45pm.
A club statement read: “The original fixture fell within a period designated for international fixtures and as three or more players have now been selected by their respective nations, the club made the request to the EFL to postpone the fixture, which they duly granted.”
The postponement means Honeyman will miss the final after seeing red in the late melee at Adams Park on Saturday.
Unless Sunderland launch a successful appeal, then Honeyman is facing a three-game ban.
Sunderland now only have two games before the final, Barnsley away on Tuesday and Walsall at home on Saturday which means he would still have a game to serve and that would mean he could not play in the final, a similar rule that saw Max Power miss an extra game earlier in the season.
Under FA rules, Honeyman cannot play against Portsmouth in the final because he is banned from all club games until he has completed his suspension, set to be three games unless an appeal is launched and is successful.
The suspension can only be served in Football League, FA Cup or Carabao Cup games, as the Checkatrade Trophy - or EFL Trophy - does not count as a ‘first team competitive match’ under the disciplinary rules, so Honey man would effectively miss four games in total.
Aiden McGeady and Jimmy Dunne have been called up by Ireland, further callups are yet to be confirmed but Will Grigg, Tom Flanagan, Bryan Oviedo and Lewis Morgan could all be called upon.
On Honeyman, Ross said: “It is something I need to look at, I don’t really know what went on. I saw a lot of people coming together.
“I am going to speak to the referee and get clarity on it. Then I can look at everything and see if it was justified.
“If it was justified then there is nothing we can do about it. If not, then we will look at it from there.”
Ross added: “I am going to speak to the referee, it is important to have an explanation, if that marries with what I see then I will accept it. We have been over the rules before, I would imagine it it is an anomaly that will be addressed next season but that is after the horse has bolted.”