Swearing at the referee and slapping his hand led to Ipswich Town Women’s defender Lucy Egan’s lengthy suspension.
On Monday, the Tractor Girls announced that Egan, 21, wouldn’t be available until 10th October having been handed a 162-day ban after being shown a red card following an "altercation with the referee” at the end of the 1-0 defeat at Portsmouth on the final day of 2021/22.
According to Suffolk News, an FA report outlines the incident after the final whistle in which Egan called the official "a f*****g p***k” and then slapped his hand, leading to her dismissal.
Egan accepted an FA charge of breaching rule E3, improper conduct, and requested a personal hearing where she said her behaviour was "out of character” and a "one-off reaction, done in the heat of the moment”.
Blues boss Joe Sheehan and club secretary Stuart Hayton spoke on Egan’s behalf, stating that the incident was "out of character”.
An FA statement reads: "Ipswich Town Women FC’s Lucy Egan has been suspended from all football activities for a period of 218 days, fined £75 and ordered to complete face-to-face education by a National Serious Case Panel of The FA for a breach of FA Rule E3.
"The defender accepted a charge for improper conduct against a match official (including physical contact or attempted physical contact and threatening and/or abusive language/behaviour) and opted for a personal hearing.”
Suffolk FA’s website has the ban down as 218, despite the club stating it runs for 162.