Frustrating Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has been banned for three matches over the coin throwing incident at Stamford Bridge last week, during the Carling Cup clash with Burnley.
The incident happened after Drogba foolishly celebrated his goal in front of the Burnley supporters and was hit by missiles thrown by a group of fans. The Chelsea player acting instinctively picked up one of the coins that had been thrown and aimed it back into the crowd.
Chelsea went on to lose the game on penalties and Burnley progressed to the quarter final stage of the Carling Cup.
Drogba immediately apologised for the incident, having acted in the heat of the moment. He was subsequently charged by the FA for violent conduct and accepted the consequences today. It was never going to be anything less than a three match ban following the precedent of a similar incident involving Liverpool’s Jamie Carragher against Arsenal a few seasons back.
It is a long time since Drogba has dominated the headlines for his footballing ability, this season has been hampered by injury as was much of the last season. The arrival of Nicolas Anelka to cover for Drogba while in the 2007 African Nations Cup may have looked to be temporary cover for the Ivory Coast player, but it is the Frenchman who is now on top of his game. It seems a long way back for Drogba if he is to recapture the excellent form he showed in 2006.
1 comment so far
1 Live Football Streams // Nov 19, 2008 at 5:08 am
He will be missed for these 3 games badly, he’s a striker that you need when you’re drawing with 5 minutes to go - ruthless and hard working.