Hazard set to contest FA charge

Chelsea have hinted they will consider an appeal if The FA opts to ban midfielder Eden Hazard for more than three games for kicking a ball-boy during the recent League Cup semi-final defeat at Swansea.

Hazard was sent off at the Liberty Stadium for kicking the ball from under ball boy Charlie Morgan when the 17-year-old attempted to lay on top of it to waste time — a red card that means an automatic three-match suspension. However the decision has been referred to a independent commission which has the ability to extend the ban because of the severity of the offence.

Chelsea, who issued a apology for Hazard’s behaviour, accept the midfielder must face a suspension but would not be impressed by an extension. They must complete their submissions on the matter by 6pm tomorrow and manager Rafa Benitez said: “For a player that was in a cup competition, with this intensity and in the way that things are going on, I think that a three-game ban is enough.”