Football: Carbone's two-match ban

Benito Carbone's chances of re-establishing himself in the Sheffield Wednesday side have been hampered by a two-match ban. The Italian forward was booked for the fifth time this season for a foul in the 1-1 draw at Leicester and will be suspended from 11 January.

He only returned to the starting line-up because of a two-match ban for his compatriot Paolo Di Canio, who is available for Saturday's FA Cup third-round tie against Watford.

Which games Carbone sits out will depend on the result at Vicarage Road as he will miss the Premiership game at Leeds, plus either a Cup replay, a fourth-round tie or a League match against Wimbledon. He will be joined on the sidelines by the defender Dejan Stefanovic, who was sent off for two bookings at Leicester and will miss either the Leeds game or any Cup replay against Watford.

The West Ham captain Steve Lomas is facing an Football Association charge for his altercation with the referee Gerald Ashby. Lomas is heading for an extra ban and a fine after Ashby turned down his appeal to change his mind about the incident. The midfielder is accused of violent conduct for putting his hands on Ashby to turn him round after he turned down an appeal for a penalty at Blackburn.

Ashby's decision to stand by his verdict means Lomas is certain to miss the next three games, including the Coca-Cola Cup tie with Arsenal next Tuesday.

However, Lomas will also be called up before the FA in early January with the prospect of an additional punishment. There is a recent precedent after Arsenal's Emmanuel Petit manhandled the referee Paul Durkin and Lomas could suffer similar treatment.

Lomas claims he was only trying to draw the referee's attention while he was running away, but a lack of video evidence has not helped his case.