Leeds United and Barnsley have been charged by the FA following their Carabao Cup second round tie at Elland Road on Wednesday night.
The charge relates to an incident in the 67th minute of the contest as Whites right-back Cody Drameh and Liam Kitching came together in front of the South Stand at Elland Road. Their argument kickstarted a melee involving a number of Leeds and Barnsley players, with referee John Brooks being forced to hand out three yellow cards.
Drameh, Kitching and Leeds defender Leo Hjelde went into the book for their part in the scuffle and the FA has consequently charged both clubs for breaking rule E20.1, alleging that both clubs failed to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion. Both organisations will have until Thursday, September 1, to respond.
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The Whites went on to win the game 3-1 to set up a third-round tie with Wolves, to be played in September, with Luis Sinisterra opening the scoring before Mateusz Klich bagged a brace. Jesse Marsch was asked about Wednesday night’s melee in his pre-match press conference ahead of this weekend’s clash with Brighton and the head coach didn’t see an issue.
“Loved it,” Marsch said when asked what he thought of it. “To be fair, they all stood up for each other, but didn't cross the line. It's really important everybody has each other's back.
“Cody did nothing to deserve the reaction, but Cody stood up for himself and the team stood up for him. No punches were thrown, nothing stupid was done in the process.
“It was just a group showing total solidarity and commitment to each other. So this kind of stuff for me is important.
“I know there are these mass confrontation things and referees are trying to avoid all this, but for me, part of being a team is making sure you have each other's back. I thought that was great.”
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