- Wolves sporting director Matt Hobbs has been hit with two-match ban by the FA
- John Stones netted controversial winner to seal the win for Man City last month
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Wolves sporting director Matt Hobbs has been handed a two-game ban by the FA after being found guilty of misconduct following Man City‘s 2-1 win at Molineux last month.
Gary O’Neil’s side have endured a difficult start to the campaign but looked on course to secure an unlikely point against the champions.
However, John Stones controversially netted a stoppage-time winner for Pep Guardiola‘s side with a VAR check ruling Bernardo Silva did not impede Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa from an offside position.
The FA charged that Hobbs had acted in an improper manner and/or used abusive words towards the match official/s around the tunnel area after the final whistle.
Hobbs had confronted officials in the tunnel following the full-time whistle and Referee Chris Kavanagh noted the incident in his post-match report.
The 44-year-old admitted the charge and will pay a fine of £7000 in addition to the ban.
The sanction comes just one year after Hobbs was handed a one-match ban for being accused of an X-rated rant at referee Anthony Taylor.
After the club were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw with Newcastle in October 2023, Hobbs is said to have vented his frustration at the veteran official as he left the pitch.
Taylor’s incident report from the game claims Hobbs walked past him in the tunnel area before telling him he was ‘absolutely f***ing useless as usual’.
Hobbs was then allegedly summoned to Taylor’s dressing room, where the referee told him his words were unacceptable.
Then after being informed that he would be reported for his comments, Hobbs is claimed to have said: ‘We look forward to your apology again,’ before walking out.
