West Ham star Lanzini banned for dive at Stoke
Manuel Lanzini has been banned for two matches for his 'successful deception of a match official' when winning a penalty for West Ham at Stoke City on Saturday.
Argentinian midfielder Lanzini went to ground under a challenge from Erik Pieters after 18 minutes at the bet365 Stadium, with referee Graham Scott pointing to the spot and Mark Noble converting from 12 yards.
West Ham went on to win 3-0, Lanzini assisting further strikes from Marko Arnautovic and Diafra Sakho to pile misery on Stoke boss Mark Hughes, whose side sit a point above the relegation zone.
Hughes fumed about the penalty incident, saying post-match: "He's a clever player, he'll draw a foul or some kind of challenge, but he wasn't clipped, he's clearly dived. It's disappointing the referee hasn't seen that."
Lanzini denied the charge, but the Football Association has seen fit to punish the midfielder, who will sit out matches against Arsenal and Newcastle United over the festive period.
He is the second Premier League player to be banned under the new directive. Everton's Oumar Niasse also missed two games after being found to have dived to win a penalty in his side's 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace last month.