Tottenham ‘shocked and surprised’ after player banned for deceiving match official

A two-match ban was upheld by the Football Association for Finnish midfielder Eveliina Summanen

Eveliina Summanen has been handed a two-match ban by the Football Association (John Walton/PA) (PA Wire)

Tottenham are understood to have been left “shocked and surprised” after Eveliina Summanen was charged with “successful deception of a match official” and subsequently handed a two-match suspension.

A ban was upheld by the Football Association for the Finnish midfielder, who denied the charge following an incident with Manchester United’s Ella Toone in the Women’s Super League earlier in the month.

Toone was sent off in the final stages of the game after shoving Summanen in the shoulder, but the England midfielder’s red card was rescinded last week and the FA confirmed on Tuesday that Summanen had been banned.

Spurs are shocked and surprised by the decision to uphold the charges against Summanen, especially given they believe their player did not act inappropriately.

It is understood Spurs are also frustrated by what they see as a lack of consistency between the men and women’s game, despite the same rules applying across both, with it being a number of years since a male player was charged by the FA for simulation.

An FA statement said: “Tottenham Hotspur Women’s Eveliina Summanen has been suspended for two matches following their WSL match on Sunday 12 February against Manchester United Women.

“The midfielder denied a charge for ‘successful deception of a match official’, which allegedly took place during the 80th minute and led to an opponent being sent off, and amounts to improper conduct.

“An independent Regulatory Commission upheld the charge during a subsequent hearing and imposed her two-match ban.

“Its written reasons will be published in due course.”

Despite Toone’s dismissal, Leah Galton’s second-half strike and Molly Bartrip’s own goal secured a win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for United, but manager Marc Skinner was disappointed with Summanen’s reaction.

“Maybe play-acting is a tough word, but actually the reality is there is no need to roll around holding your face, right? There is no need,” he said post-match.

“You want to see passion for your club. Yes, it is a foul and probably a yellow card with the tackle from Tooney but there is a tangle of legs. Maybe there is a little bit of frustration and we have to be accountable for our actions.

“We’ll assess that within and deal with it internally but you just don’t need to roll around holding your face. That is the part I don’t want to come into our game because it is a clear push on the shoulder and maybe more frustration.”