Bournemouth have hit out at the Football Association's decision to suspend Tyrone Mings for five games following his altercation with Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The 23-year-old caught Ibrahimovic's head with his boot in the Cherries' 1-1 draw with Manchester United last weekend, moments before being elbowed by his opponent.
While the United striker escaped with a standard three-match ban, the FA announced on Wednesday afternoon that Mings will serve a five-game suspension due to the more severe nature of the incident.
Bournemouth are not happy with the FA's decision, however, saying in a statement: "We are extremely disappointed with the FA Regulatory Commission's decision to find Tyrone Mings guilty of the charges against him and impose a five-game suspension, following Saturday's incident at Old Trafford involving Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
"We will study the detailed reasons of the commission once they become available, but find it extraordinary that the charges can be described as 'proven' when there is absolutely no evidence to prove the incident was intentional. It is our strongly held belief – backed up by our relationship with the player, and knowledge of his background and character – that it was an accidental collision.
"Tyrone twice apologised to Ibrahimovic during the match for the accidental collision and also reiterated that there was no intent straight after the final whistle in a series of television interviews. We fully support our player. Tyrone has an excellent disciplinary record and has not been sent off in 75 matches as a professional. During that time he has only received 13 yellow cards – the last of which came in April 2015. The club will be making no further comment."
Mings will now not be available for selection for Premier League strugglers Bournemouth until the trip to face Tottenham Hotspur on April 15.
Daniel Lewis
