The FA had said in announcing the charge that the nature of the Spurs midfielder’s action was such that the usual three-match violent-conduct suspension was “clearly insufficient”. The midfielder will miss the final two games of this season and four further matches at the start of the next campaign.
Dembélé accepted the charge but he and the club argued that a three-game would suffice. An FA independent panel disagreed with that.
The FA also charged the two London clubs with failing to control their players during the 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge. Both may receive six-figure fines following a series of ugly incidents.
Nine Tottenham players were booked by Clattenburg on the night, a record for a single team in a Premier League match, with Spurs riled up against their London rivals when their title hopes were on the line. The clubs have until 6pm on Monday to respond to the charge and are expected to receive significant fines.
Matters came to a head again at the full-time whistle when a melee in the tunnel resulted in Chelsea’s interim manager Guus Hiddink being pushed to the ground.
The charge of failing to control players carries an initial set fine for a club’s first offence in a season. However, both Chelsea and Tottenham have already faced such a sanction following incidents in respective games with West Brom, so they could face more severe punishment.
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