Palace forward Zaha faces extended ban

Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha could receive an extended ban after the Football Association charged him with improper conduct for the way he reacted to being sent off against Southampton.

The forward was dismissed after 87 minutes in Wednesday’s 1-1 Premier League draw at St Mary’s when he received two yellow cards in quick succession, the second for appearing to sarcastically applaud referee Andre Marriner, who had booked him for a challenge with Saints’ James WardProwse.

Zaha’s dismissal, which came after he had opened the scoring against Southampton, would usually result in a onematch ban.

But the FA could extend it further after the Eagles star appeared to clap Marriner again as he left the pitch.

“All I can do is apologize to the team and the fans for my red card because I could have cost us today,” said Zaha in a post-match Twitter message. “I will learn from it for sure.”