The Football Association has confirmed that Paul Pogba will miss Manchester United’s opening day fixture against Bournemouth on Sunday because he is suspended.
The France midfielder, who became the most expensive player in history last week when he completed his move to Old Trafford for £93.2m, was included on a list of names who are banned for the first round of fixtures in the Premier League when it was published on Friday.
Despite being shown only one red card in his entire club career, when he was sent off for spitting during a 1-0 win for Juventus over Palermo in May 2013, Pogba picked up two yellow cards in last season’s Coppa Italia – an offence that carries an automatic one-match ban. The 23-year-old was cautioned in both the semi-final victory over Internazionale and the final against Milan, which the Serie A champions won 3-0 on penalties.
Manager José Mourinho only learned two days ago that he would be without his marquee summer signing for his new club’s opening fixture.
“I knew the situation with the yellow cards but I didn’t know if an accumulation would bring a suspension,” he told journalists on Friday.
“I didn’t know if a suspension from Italian football would be for the corresponding competition in England, which would be the first FA Cup match.”
The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Mousa Dembélé, who was handed a six-match ban for gouging the eye of Chelsea’s Diego Costa during their match in May, still has five matches of his suspension to complete. Leicester’s Robert Huth will also miss the first three games of the season, while Chris Smalling is also out of United’s trip to Bournemouth, Mourinho’s first match as manager of the Old Trafford club.
Guardian
