Ball to miss two games

Wellington Phoenix striker David Ball has been slapped with a two-game suspension after he was sent off for a dangerous challenge on Matt Simon during last Sunday’s 2-0 A-League defeat to Central Coast Mariners. Ball was issued a straight red card by referee Daniel Elder after diving in studs up on Simon in the 27th minute. The independent Match Review Panel determined that Ball committed the offence of serious foul play and proposed a two-game suspension, the minimum sanction for the offence plus one additional match. The twogame ban will see Ball miss Sunday’s match against Western Sydney Wanderers and next Wednesday’s clash with bottom of the table Melbourne Victory.