THIS ARTICLE IS FOR THE72’S BRAND NEW CONTENT SERIES – 72TALK. OUR IN-HOUSE WRITERS HAVE THEIR SAY ON ALL THE LATEST AND PRESSING STORIES COMING OUT OF THE ENGLISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE.
QPR take on Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship today – but they’ll be without striker Charlie Austin.
The man on loan from West Brom was handed a three-game ban going into this weekend, after being charged with violent conduct by the FA.
He appeared to stamp on Nottingham Forest’s Ryan Yates during the 3-1 loss earlier in the week and will now miss three crucial games in QPR’s bid for an unlikely top-six charge.
But is the ban justified? See what our writers have to say:
Luke Phelps (@lukephelps72)
“Austin has always had a slight aggression to his game, which has often held him in good stead in the Football League. But this was a needless act of frustration from the 31-year-old and Mark Warburton will likely be disappointed.
“Is the three-game ban justified though? There’s been smaller bans and fines handed out for lesser incidents, and some have questioned whether Austin’s constant scrutiny of the standard of officiating in England has something to do with the lengthy ban handed out by the EFL.
“It wouldn’t be surprising. But either way, I hope Austin learns from this.”
Harry Mail (@HarryMail99)
“You can’t get away with anything these days and unfortunately for QPR and Austin he’s been caught out.
“Do I think it’s worthy of a three-game ban? Not really. To me it didn’t look that bad and things like that are always going to happen, but rules are rules. It’s a blow for Austin because he’ll only have four games left when he’s served his suspension.”
Graham Smeaton (@365DaysLUFC)
“It’s a fine line between accepting what a referee sees and what technology then proves – such as in the case of VAR. Yes, you can say the ‘referee’s call should be final’ but things often go unseen by match officials.
“The camera has picked up Austin’s stamp, even though the referee missed it. You can argue all you want about ‘technology’ but Austin has been found guilty.
“Does he deserve his ban? Should his denial of violent intent be just mitigation for him? Quite simply, no. He’s been found guilty and he deserves his punishment.”
Tom Rodgers (@TomRodgersFJ)
“A justified ban for the QPR striker after his stamp on Ryan Yates. No need for his foot to make the stamping motion it did and I believe the FA got this one right.
“It’s also something the striker has been guilty of before during his time at Southampton.
“Lucky for Austin, his side aren’t in any real danger of needing the points so the ban won’t matter in that regard as they are neither fighting for promotion or fighting against relegation.”
