Leicester's Jamie Vardy set for extra game ban after FA charge

• Charges of improper conduct concern comments to referee after red card
• FA also charges Leicester with failing to control their players

Posted Tuesday, April 19, 2016 by theguardian.com

Jamie Vardy reacted angrily to his red card against West Ham, having been shown a second yellow card by Jon Moss for an alleged dive.

Leicester City's title hopes have been dealt a major setback by the Football Association confirming that Jamie Vardy has been charged with improper conduct following his reaction to the red card he received against West Ham United on Sunday, meaning that the club's leading goalscorer is likely to have his mandatory one-match suspension extended by another game.

Vardy is automatically banned for Swansea City's visit on Sunday but the England international now faces the prospect of having to sit out the trip to Manchester United the following week after Jonathan Moss, the referee at the centre of so many controversial decisions during the 2-2 draw with West Ham at the King Power Stadium, mentioned in his report that he was unhappy with the 29-year‑old forward's response to his dismissal as he left the pitch.

Moss, whose handling of the game has been widely criticised, has effectively thrown the book at Leicester. As well as the case brought against Vardy the FA has also charged Leicester with failure to control their players after the 83rd‑minute penalty that Moss awarded West Ham when Wes Morgan was penalised for grappling with Winston Reid. Yet the real concern for Leicester surrounds Vardy and how they will cope without the services of their most influential player if his suspension is indeed increased.

Vardy has scored 22 Premier League goals this season, including three in his past two matches, and he has set up another six. He is their talisman and central to their style of play, whether breaking with such pace on the counterattack or pressing aggressively from the front. In that sense the sending-off on Sunday, which was Vardy's first as a professional footballer, could have significant ramifications for the title race.

Already booked for a foul on Cheikhou Kouyaté – a decision that television replays would later show to be incorrect – Vardy received a second yellow card in the 56th minute for diving, after he went to ground following a tangle with Angelo Ogbonna. Vardy was clearly shocked and incensed when Moss brandished a red card, and his reaction to that decision may well now mean that he will not be able to feature for Leicester again until the visit of Everton on 7 May, in their penultimate game of the season.

Leicester then travel to Stamford Bridge on the final day. Vardy's case will be examined by a three-person independent disciplinary commission who can use video evidence to help decide whether the player should be punished further.

Both Vardy and Leicester have until 6pm on Thursday to reply to the charges. Leicester showed no shortage of spirit to salvage a point against West Ham, with Leonardo Ulloa scoring a 95th-minute penalty after another bizarre decision from Moss, to peg back Slaven Bilic's side in the dying seconds.

Keith Hackett has described Moss's display on Sunday as the "worst refereeing performance I have witnessed all season" and accused the official of making a number of significant errors. "Jamie Vardy and his sending-off, his first yellow card, for me, was not an offence," Hackett, the former Fifa referee and once head of the PGMOL, told youaretheref.com.

"Later Moss was in a poor position to issue a second yellow for Vardy's alleged act of simulation. In added time, with West Ham leading 2-1, Moss awarded a penalty kick to Leicester which was completely incorrect – no offence had taken place. Frankly this was too big a game for him – he failed to remain calm and in control. Tempo management was missing. He needed to put his foot on the ball."

The challenge for Claudio Ranieri's players now is to prove they can still carry a threat without Vardy. "Vardy has been one of the best players in the league, but Leo came on against West Ham and got a point for us, that was a lot of pressure for anyone," Danny Simpson, the Leicester full-back, said. "Other players have scored in the team and before last week Vards hadn't scored for five or six games, so we'll deal with it."