Fabregas suspension reduced to one match

Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas’s suspension for kicking the ball at West Bromwich Albion’s Chris Brunt has been reduced from three matches to one, the Football Association announced on Wednesday.

Fabregas was shown a straight red card during Chelsea’s 3-0 Premier League loss at West Brom on Monday after drilling the ball at a crowd of players and hitting Brunt in the face during a break in play in the 29th minute.

Cesc Fabregas

The standard three-game ban would have forced Fabregas to miss the champions’ final game at home to Sunderland on Sunday and the first two games of next season, but he will now only sit out this weekend’s fixture.

“A claim by Chelsea that the three-match suspension for Cesc Fabregas is excessive has been upheld by an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing,” the FA said in a statement on its website.

“Fabregas was dismissed for violent conduct during the West Bromwich Albion FC v Chelsea FC fixture on 18 May.

“The Regulatory Commission has reduced the Chelsea midfielder’s suspension to one match, to be served with immediate effect.”

The reduction of Fabregas’s ban will please Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, who was exasperated by referee Mike Jones’s decision to dismiss the Spain international at The Hawthorns.

“A top referee with big personality has a few words and controls the game. It’s a bizarre red card,” said the Portuguese. “Three-game ban for this? Jesus Christ. Of course it’s harsh.”