A-League: Sydney FC striker Matt Simon set for one-match ban for striking Mariner Harry Ascroft

SYDNEY FC striker Matt Simon is set to escape with a one-match ban for striking Mariners defender Harry Ascroft, after being cited by the A-League match review panel.

A-League Rd 12 - Sydney v Central Coast

SYDNEY FC striker Matt Simon is likely to escape with a one-match ban for striking Mariners defender Harry Ascroft on Saturday, after being cited by the A-League’s match review panel.

However Melbourne striker Besart Berisha will face no censure for the penalty awarded to Melbourne Victory in Sunday’s draw with Perth, after being accused of simulation by Glory goalkeeper Ante Covic.

Simon has until 3pm on Tuesday to make a submission to the MRP over the incident, which it’s understood will be treated as “serious unsporting behaviour” rather than a violent conduct charge which would have attracted a more severe penalty.

The incident came close to halftime, with Simon caught on TV footage swinging his arm towards Ascroft and making contact with the defender’s head. Ascroft remonstrated with referee Ben Williams at the time but the official did not see the clash, allowing the MRP to act. The charge Simon faces carries a minimum sanction of only one match.

“We’ll talk to Matt and review the footage and decide what action to take,” said Sydney FC CEO Tony Pignata. “We could make a submission, or we may decide to just accept the charge.”

Simon told teammates after the game that he had intended to nudge Ascroft’s shoulder, in the wake of a tussle the pair had had during a corner, but inadvertently made contact with his head. The MRP seem to have viewed it as a less serious offence, and Simon is likely to be suspended only for Saturday’s trip to Melbourne City.

Berisha meanwhile will not be charged with diving, despite the angry protestations from Covic after he was adjudged to have fouled the striker to earn the penalty from which Victory took the lead against Perth. TV cameras suggested there was little if any contact between the two before Berisha went to ground, and afterwards Covic dubbed Berisha an “Albanian salesman” — a description for which he too seems set to escape any censure.

“I got a yellow card and a penalty against me for absolutely nothing,” Covic said. “You can get the honesty from me, or you can go to the Albanian salesman [Berisha] and get his version.”

The match review panel will only pursue claims of simulation where it considers the evidence irrefutable, with only a handful of prosecutions brought since the A-League became one of the only competitions in the world to permit retrospective punishments for diving.

With Simon facing a ban for Saturday’s game, Sydney will find out today whether captain Alex Brosque will also be missing, after having scans on the troublesome hamstring that caused his withdrawal early in the defeat of the Mariners.

Brosque missed his team’s previous two games with a hamstring strain, but is hopeful this is a less serious injury and might recover in time for Saturday.

Originally published as A-League: Sydney FC striker Matt Simon set for one-match ban for striking Mariner Harry Ascroft