Zlatan Ibrahimovic pleaded guilty to costing Manchester United victory, but it is his elbowing of Bournemouth’s Tyrone Mings that could cost his club more.
If the referee, Kevin Friend, confirms to the FA on Monday morning that he and his assistants did not see Ibrahimovic exact retribution after Mings stamped on his head, an FA charge of violent conduct and a three-match ban is set to follow.
The United striker protested his innocence over the elbow incident, but he is in grave danger of missing next Monday’s FA Cup quarter-final at Chelsea as well as the Premier League games against Middlesbrough and West Brom.