Bristol City claim Wright’s diving ban is ‘clear injustice’

Bristol City claim they are “hugely surprised” by the Football Association’s decision to ban Bailey Wright retrospectively for simulation.

Wright is the second player to receive a ban for deceiving an official this season, since the FA and all 92 Football League clubs agreed on new measures to punish diving this summer. In a statement, Mark Ashton, the chief executive, described the decision as “extremely disappointing”, the panel’s reasoning as “astonishing” and the outcome as a “clear injustice”.

Fulham’s Aboubakar Kamara was sent off when the Championship clubs met on Tuesday, when he pushed Wright to the ground off the ball. An independent panel subsequently rescinded his threematch ban for violent conduct.

A separate three-person panel comprised of a former player, former manager and former match official then concluded that Wright had committed an offence according to FA guidelines. The FA then punished Wright with the mandatory two-match ban. The player appealed the charge yesterday, but was rejected by another three-person panel.

Wright will miss Bristol City’s derby with Cardiff today, while Kamara was free to be a substitute for Fulham, who faced Wolves last night. Decisions regarding simulation are fast-tracked to help clubs avoid doubt over selection.

Bristol City claim they have received no information about the panel’s conclusions, and will have to wait until it publishes its written reasons next week.

Given there was contact between the players, it seems likely the panel ruled there was an attempt to “exaggerate the effect of a normal contact challenge in order to deceive the referee” – the fifth point on the simulation guidelines.

Wright held his face following the push, but City claim he had landed “awkwardly on his neck and back”. The FA declined to comment on Bristol’s complaints.