Frank Lampard fined by FA after accepting improper conduct charge

The Derby manager was dismissed by referee Peter Bankes after leaving his technical area to complain about a handball decision during his side's 1-0 defeat against Rotherham

'I’ll accept the fine and we’ll move on' (Getty Images)

Derby County manager Frank Lampard has been fined £2,000 after accepting an improper conduct charge from the Football Association.

Lampard was dismissed during his side's 1-0 defeat by Rotherham after leaving his technical area to complain about a handball decision in the 77th minute.

Referee Peter Bankes had awarded Rotherham a penalty in the 63rd minute, having judged that Chelsea loanee Fikayo Tomori had fouled Kyle Vassell in the box.

Derby had been reduced to 10 men earlier in the second half when Tom Lawrence was shown a straight red card for a tackle from behind on Richie Towell.

“I’ll accept the fine and we’ll move on," Lampard said in a press conference on Monday. "Some of the frustration comes because we didn’t play as well as we could on the day.

“Sometimes, mistakes can be made. The best referees make less mistakes. The level is good in the Championship."

Defeat against Rotherham leaves Derby seventh in the Championship table, having won four and lost three of their first seven matches.

Speaking after the match, Lampard said: “I didn’t get a word from the ref. I need to go back to the rulebook myself because I do not want to be leaving the game. I was upset with a handball. If those are the rules, managers will get sent off every game.

“I like communication with officials but there was none of that. It wasn’t a penalty. They got a soft one but we didn’t get one.

“Everything was going against us. It was one of those games. Once the melee started you sort of read the script.

“We didn’t need a reality check, this is the Championship. The beauty of the Championship is that there is a game in a few days.”