Chelsea’s Alonso banned for three matches

Marcos Alonso has been banned for three matches after an Independent Regulatory Commission ruled he committed an act of violent conduct against Southampton’s Shane Long.

Chelsea wing-back Alonso denied the charge issued by the Football Association but his case was rejected at a hearing on Wednesday.

The charge related to a challenge on Long during the first half of Chelsea’s 3-2 win at Southampton on Saturday.

It was not seen by the match officials, but the FA took retrospective action after reviewing footage of the incident.

Alonso will therefore miss Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, also against Southampton, who were leading 2-0 when Alonso clashed with Long.

He is also unavailable for Thursday’s game at Burnley, where January signing Emerson Palmieri is set to make his first Premier League start, and the match at Swansea on 28 April.