West Ham United forward Mohammed Kudus’ suspension has been upgraded to five games by the Football Association (FA) after his red card against Tottenham Hotspur in October.
The 24-year-old was shown a straight red card for violent conduct following a video assistant referee (VAR) review in the second half of West Ham’s 4-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on October 19.
The suspension means, in addition to the games against Manchester United and Nottingham Forest that Kudus has already missed, he will also be unavailable for West Ham’s upcoming fixtures against Everton (November 9), Newcastle United (November 25), and Arsenal (November 30).
Kudus had initially been shown a yellow card by referee Andy Madley at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after appearing to kick out at Spurs defender Micky van de Ven before pushing the Netherlands international in the face.
He then went on to push opposition midfielder Pape Matar Sarr in the face before VAR official Chris Kavanagh recommended Madley reviewed the incidents on the screen.
Kudus was issued a three-game suspension, of which he has already served two games, but after an FA hearing, where it was alleged he acted in an improper manner and/or used violent conduct, he will miss a further three games.
The independent commission agreed the two offences should be treated as two separate incidents and therefore deemed an additional ban was necessary.
As stated in the FA’s written reasons, Kudus submitted a letter to the FA on October 24, where despite believing Van de Ven had exaggerated the altercation, he apologised for the incident and stated that he was “deeply embarrassed” by his behaviour. The independent commission deemed his apology sincere, and also noted his acceptance of the charge and his previously clean disciplinary record when determining the length of his ban.
Kudus also stated that his preparation for the game against Tottenham had been “physically and mentally challenging” after playing 90 minutes in Ghana’s 2-0 defeat to Sudan in Libya just four days before, a defeat that left Ghana on the brink of failing to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
However, the FA said that because the game was a high-profile London derby, the “sustained and public nature” of Kudus’ “aggressive behaviour” as well as the level of force used by the Ghana international, a two-game suspension was a necessary punishment. Kudus has also been fined £60,000 ($77,294.69)
West Ham are 14h in the Premier League with just three wins from their opening ten league games of the season. They return to action against Everton on Saturday.
(Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
