Manchester United's defender Harry Maguire has been issued an additional one-match ban for misconduct, which will cause him to miss the team's upcoming trip to Chelsea. This ban stems from an incident on April 1, where Maguire was charged by an independent regulatory commission for acting in an "improper manner" towards fourth official Matt Donohue after being given a red card in a match against Bournemouth on March 20. Maguire had been reacting to being sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity when he pushed Bournemouth's Evanilson, leading to a penalty kick that resulted in an equalizing goal. Having already served a suspension for the red card and missing the 2-1 defeat to Leeds, Maguire will now also miss the match against Chelsea due to this additional ban.
He admitted to the offense and was fined £30,000. According to the FA's written reasons, fourth official Donohue claimed Maguire said, "You're a joke, you're all a f****** joke," as he left the field, although Maguire claimed he did not insult the official but rather said something like "it is a f****** joke." This suspension, combined with the ban of Argentina centre-back Lisandro Martinez for pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin's hair during the Leeds match, leaves Manchester United with limited centre-back options for the Chelsea game. Analysis suggests that with Maguire and Martinez suspended, and Matthijs de Ligt injured, the team may have to rely on less experienced players or consider unconventional options.