FA charge West Ham's Manuel Lanzini with dive to win penalty at Stoke
ByPA Sport
Updated 18/12/2017 at 15:31 GMT
West Ham's Manuel Lanzini has been charged for diving to win a penalty against Stoke on Saturday, the Football Association has announced.
Stoke City's Erik Pieters 'fouls' West Ham United's Manuel Lanzini
Image credit: Reuters
The 24-year-old Argentine went down when challenged by Erik Pieters and West Ham captain Mark Noble converted from the spot to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
The decision infuriated Stoke manager Mark Hughes, who is now under even more pressure following the 3-0 home defeat.
Lanzini has until 6pm on Tuesday to respond to the charge, which is officially known as the " successful deception of a match official" - in this case referee Graham Scott.
New this season, a simulation charge only comes when there is clear evidence a player has fooled an official into winning a penalty or getting an opponent sent off, either via a straight red card or second yellow.
Decisions are made, on a fast-track basis, by a panel comprised of one ex-official, one ex-manager and one ex-player - all three review the video footage independently and a charge follows only when they are unanimous.
If the charge is accepted or upheld by an independent commission, the guilty player receives a two-match ban and any cards involved are rescinded.
West Ham and Lanzini must decide whether to accept a two-match ban or contest it, with the deadline to launch an appeal 1800 GMT on Tuesday.
"I'm going to think about it (appealing)," West Ham manager David Moyes said.
"I'm a bit surprised. The referee was 10 yards from the ball, nothing was blocking his vision, the defender made a challenge for the ball and didn't get it. So, I think they're going against the referee.
"He (Lanzini) had a brilliant performance on Saturday, he made two assists, so I only said to him after the game about how well he played.
"Let me be clear. I'm the first one who wants to get rid of diving. That's why I'm surprised by this one because nobody can be sure."
Last month, Everton striker Oumar Niasse was banned for diving to win a penalty in his side's 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace.
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Oumar Niasse of Everton scores his side's second goal to make it 2-2 during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Everton at Selhurst Park on November 18, 2017 in London, England.
Image credit: Getty Images
In Monday's Daily Mail, ex-referee Graham Poll wrote that he thought Lanzini would avoid a charge, describing it as "a bit of a dive but not an outrageous" one.
"I'm sorry if that doesn't make sense but that's how hard it is to referee players such as Manuel Lanzini," Poll added.
Speaking to reporters after Saturday's game, Hughes said: "I've seen it again. The guy's dived. He's drawn the challenge. He's a clever player.
"It was clearly a dive and the ref's seen something that no-one else saw. All in all, it was a poor sequence of events for him and for us.
"It sounds like sour grapes when you talk about people getting punished retrospectively. It doesn't help us now."
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