Injured Reece James Banned, Fined For Tunnel Incident

Chelsea’s defender, Reece James, who is currently battling to recover from a hamstring injury has been slammed with a match ban and a £90,000 fine.

The English FA had to punish the 23-year-old England international after he was involved in a tunnel clash with match officials after Chelsea’s 1-0 home defeat to Aston Villa on September 24.

Though he didn’t play the game due to his hamstring problem, he made the bench and allegedly fought with the center referee, Jarred Gillett verbally while they were leaving the mainbowl of Stamford Bridge.

After the FA charged him with misconduct, Reece James acknowledged acting in an “improper, insulting, and abusive manner” toward the referee.

The FA claimed that James had consented to the charge and promised to make the written defense public “at the earliest opportunity.”

The right-back who is now Chelsea’s captain had a difficult time maintaining his fitness during the 2022–2023 campaign before he sustained a hamstring injury in September.

Before sustaining the injury, Reece James managed to make just one Premier League appearance for the club. Since he gained promotion to the club’s senior team on July 1, 2019, he has made 148 appearances in all competitions in which he scored 11 goals and provided 20 assists.

The right-back will remain sidelined when Chelsea take on Burnley on Saturday, October 7 at Turf Moor as he continues with his recovery process

After winning just two of their first seven league games under new manager Mauricio Pochettino, the Blues are currently ranked 11th in the Premier League.