Manny Muscat banned for two games for assaulting Roy O’Donovan before headbutt incident

WELLINGTON defender Manny Muscat has been banned for two games for his role in the incident in which he was felled by a headbutt from Central Coast striker Roy O’Donovan.

Central Coast's Roy O'Donovan headbutts Wellington's Emmanuel Muscat

WELLINGTON Phoenix defender Manny Muscat has been banned for two A-League games for his role in the incident in which he was felled by a headbutt from Central Coast Mariners striker Roy O’Donovan.

O’Donovan launched a vicious headbutt at Muscat midway through the second half of the Mariners’ 3-1 win over the Phoenix on Thursday night.

The incident occurred after O’Donovan appeared to be caught by a flailing arm from Muscat as they challenged for the ball before it went out of play.

And the independent Match Review Panel on Tuesday ruled Muscat had committed an assault on a player and added one extra match to the mandatory minimum ban for the offence.

Muscat will miss the Phoenix’s next two clashes, against Brisbane and Newcastle.

O’Donovan has been referred straight to a disciplinary committee meeting on Wednesday afternoon.

O’Donovan apologised for the headbutt, “embarrassed” it had taken the gloss off the side’s first win in 11 weeks.

But he insisted he was not the only one at fault, saying Muscat had provoked him and should “get an Oscar” for subsequently going down “like a movie star”.

Originally published as Manny Muscat banned for two games for assaulting Roy O’Donovan before headbutt incident