Tottenham Women midfielder handed two-match ban after ‘deception of a match official’

Tottenham’s Eveliina Summanen has been handed a two-match ban after being charged with the “successful deception of a match official”.

A ban was upheld for the Finnish midfielder, who denied the charge following an incident with Manchester United’s Ella Toone in the Women’s Super League earlier in the month.

Toone was sent off in the final stages of the game after shoving Summanen in the shoulder, but the England midfielder’s red card was rescinded last week and the Football Association confirmed on Tuesday that Summanen had been banned.

A statement said: “Tottenham Hotspur Women’s Eveliina Summanen has been suspended for two matches following their WSL match on Sunday 12 February against Manchester United Women.

“The midfielder denied a charge for ‘successful deception of a match official’, which allegedly took place during the 80th minute and led to an opponent being sent off, and amounts to improper conduct.

“An independent Regulatory Commission upheld the charge during a subsequent hearing and imposed her two-match ban.

“Its written reasons will be published in due course.”

Despite Toone’s dismissal, Leah Galton’s second-half strike and Molly Bartrip’s own goal secured a win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for United, but manager Marc Skinner was disappointed with Summanen’s reaction.

“Maybe play-acting is a tough word, but actually the reality is there is no need to roll around holding your face, right? There is no need,” he said post-match.

“You want to see passion for your club. Yes, it is a foul and probably a yellow card with the tackle from Tooney but there is a tangle of legs. Maybe there is a little bit of frustration and we have to be accountable for our actions.

“We’ll assess that within and deal with it internally but you just don’t need to roll around holding your face. That is the part I don’t want to come into our game because it is a clear push on the shoulder and maybe more frustration.”