Striker admits biting scores two v Watford gets 8-game ban.
Preston striker Milutin Osmajic has been banned for eight games after admitting a charge of biting – and Watford head coach Tom Cleverley has admitted he was surprised to see the striker play at Deepdale on Wednesday night.Osmajic admitted he was guilty on Monday but it’s only today, Friday, that The FA have now handed him the eight-game ban.
The Montenegrin international started and scored twice against the Hornets in the 3-0 win, and also played the last 22 minutes of their defeat at Millwall – both games occurring after the fixture against Blackburn on September 22 where Osmajic admitted to biting Rovers’ Owen Beck.
The striker now can’t play for North End until November 23, and he has also been given a £15,000 fine for his actions.
A club statement from Preston said they will not make further comment until the written reasons are published, potentially suggesting they might appeal.
leverley discussed the situation this morning rather than on the night.
“I didn’t want to get caught up in that on Wednesday as it was absolutely not the reason why we lost, and we have our own problems to address from that game,” he stressed.
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“And I said to the players that I will always start with myself when it comes to addressing problems or poor performances.
“And I did. I had my own internal review of everything around Wednesday.
“But that aside, it is a strange situation for such a serious incident and for a guilty plea, and yet the player to still play.
“It’s part of a process, and I understand the FA has to go through that process if something isn’t picked up in the 90 minutes.
“It needs to be investigated and reviewed, but when it’s a fairly serious incident like that you’d expect those processes to be a bit quicker.”
Osmajic hadn’t started a league game before Wednesday, suggesting that Preston knew they might be without him for a while after the fixture against Watford.
“I was surprised to see the player play,” admitted Cleverley.
“I don’t blame Paul Heckingbottom for picking him. They’ve got a good player who is available, so you pick him.
“But for a serious incident like that and for the player to admit it, and then still be available for selection . . . if he had done something in the game on Wednesday night then it would have become much more serious.
“Maybe it’s something that needs to be reviewed.”
Ironically, referee Mat Donohue – who took charge of the Preston/Blackburn game and missed the biting incident – is due to take charge of Watford’s game with Middlesbrough tomorrow.
