- Jhon Duran kicked a water bottle while leaving the field at St James’ Park
- He is currently serving a three-match suspension after an apparent stamp
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Jhon Duran has been charged by the Football Association with improper conduct for his reaction to his sending off against Newcastle on Boxing Day.
The Aston Villa striker was shown a straight red card after being adjudged to have stamped on Newcastle defender Fabian Schar during the first half of the 3-0 defeat.
Infuriated by the decision, Duran then kicked a water bottle after leaving the pitch.
He is currently serving a three-match ban after the club failed in their bid to overturn the dismissal but the frontman could now be hit with a further punishment.
Duran, 21, has until Friday to respond.
An FA statement read: ‘Jhon Duran has been charged following the Premier League fixture between Newcastle United and Aston Villa on Thursday 26 December2024.
Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran has been hit with an improper conduct charge by the FA
Duran was sent off for a stamp on Fabian Schar during Villa’s 3-0 defeat by Newcastle
‘It’s alleged that the Aston Villa forward acted in an improper manner in the 32nd minute of the fixture, after being sent off.’
Villa manager Unai Emery was incensed by the referee’s verdict and later admitted the suspension was ‘hard to accept’.
‘I think he didn’t kick him on purpose,’ said Emery. ‘Of course we are going to appeal and hopefully it’s not three matches as it’s a very big punishment for this action.’
Tensions had flared out of control in the tunnel during the half-time break, resulting in a ’20-man melee’ breaking out and red cards being shown to Newcastle assistant head coach Jason Tindall and Villa analyst Victor Manas.
Duran was absent for yesterday’s 2-2 draw with Brighton and will also be forced to sit out of upcoming matches against Leicester and West Ham.
As it stands, he will be eligible to make his return against Everton on January 15.
The Colombian international has made 26 appearances this season, scoring 12 goals.
Emery has accused referees’ chiefs of using VAR to protect the reputations of officials, rather than ensuring that they make the correct decisions.
Duran reacted furiously to his dismissal (pictured) and kicked a water bottle as he left the pitch
Unai Emery was infuriated by the referee’s verdict, saying the suspension was ‘hard to accept’
Normally reluctant to criticise officials, Emery used his programme notes before the draw with Brighton to question whether VAR is being deployed in the right way.
‘In our opinion, the referees are not using enough and correctly the VAR,’ he said.
Emery then added: ‘If we use it to protect a certain way of understanding the refereeing of football or just to protect whatever it takes for the on-field decisions to be delivered – right or wrong – by the referee.
‘If we start to use the VAR in a political way, we are forgetting that the video tool is here to protect mainly the game and the fairness of the competition.
‘VAR is not a tool to protect or to be under any ego, any system or any individual.
‘VAR cannot be overused to break the spirit of the game but if it is existing and available, VAR neither must be underused on purpose and let big mistakes happen without using all the tools correctly.’
