Wolves forward Matheus Cunha given two-match ban by FA - which he’ll serve while injured | OneFootball

Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Matheus Cunha has been handed a two-game ban by the Football Association after being charged for his part in a clash after the defeat to Ipswich Town.

With both clubs battling relegation this season, a fraught match ended 2-1 to the Suffolk side after a stoppage time goal, with Rayan Ait-Nouri shown a red card for Wolves shortly after full time and Gary O’Neil ultimately being sacked from the head coach role.

But the scenes didn’t stop at the final whistle with Cunha involved in a scuffle between both clubs, as he made contact with an Ipswich staff member with his elbow and forcibly removed his glasses from his face.

And that has ultimately resulted in the Brazilian being suspended for two fixtures for misconduct and acting in an improper manner, which means he’ll miss Wolves’ Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest and their FA Cup third round match against Bristol City. Cunha admitted the charge.

However, he was charged on 17 December following the match on 14 December - and since being charged played and scored in the win over Leicester, did the same to help his side beat Manchester United and also featured until half-time in the weekend draw with Tottenham. He came off injured after “feeling something” which prevented him sprinting, his new manager Vitor Pereira said.

A violent conduct charge or sending off during matches holds a standard three-match ban, but Cunha’s charge differed to this, leaving the FA free to impose a different penalty.

With Wolves claiming seven points across those last three matches, they have climbed above both Ipswich and Leicester to sit outside the relegation zone, one point above the former and a point behind Everton.

He’ll now sit out the Forest fixture as his team continue to battle the drop but would likely have done so anyway after going off injured against Spurs.

Assuming Cunha is fit again by the time his two-match ban is served, he’ll return for a tough run of games for the Old Gold against Newcastle, Chelsea, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Liverpool, all of whom they play in a row between 15 January and 16 February.