Thursday, 7th November, 2013
Fulham defender Sascha Riether has become the first player to be suspended via retrospective action after the English FA banned him for three games for a "violent conduct" charge.
Riether was charged after appearing to stamp on Manchester United's Adnan Januzaj during Saturday's game and the FA's punishment was announced yesterday evening.
He will now sit out the next three games for Fulham, though he had issued an apology earlier this week via his Twitter account.
"I want to say I am sorry to Adnan Januzai [sic]. It was very unlike me and I can only say that frustration got the better of me," Riether wrote.
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"I also want to apologise to my team-mates, fans and everyone at the club, for the ban incurred following Saturday's match
"I will accept the consequences of my actions, and hope to put it behind me when I return.
"I want the fans to know that I will be working hard to stay fit and will be ready to continue fighting for the club as soon as I am able."
The incident was not seen by the referee at the time due to a melee that involved players from both sides.
The FA's punishment comes a few weeks after Fernando Torres escaped a similar retrospective ban for his "scratch" on Jan Vertonghen.
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