Reece James charged for what happened in Chelsea's defeat to Aston Villa

Chelsea captain Reece James has been charged by the Football Association (FA) for his behaviour during his side's defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday. The 23-year-old was not involved and sat out due to a hamstring injury but has been charged because of «improper and/or insulting and/or abusive words and/or behaviour towards a match official» after the game.

«Reece James has been charged with a breach of FA Rule E3 following Chelsea's Premier League game against Aston Villa on Sunday, 24 September,» the statement from the FA read. «It's alleged that the defender used improper and/or insulting and/or abusive words and/or behaviour towards a match official in the tunnel after the game. Reece James has until Friday, 29 September, to provide a response to this charge.»

Malo Gusto was shown a straight red card after the referee visited the VAR monitor pitch-side in the second-half of the game. Gusto's challenge on Lucas Digne was high on the left-back's leg but he was initially shown a yellow. However, after visiting the monitor, the decision was changed.

After the game, Mauricio Pochettino was asked about the red card and whether it was deserved. The Blues head coach, though, was not too keen to talk about the challenge.

He said: «Being honest, it was in front of me but I didn't see and now I still didn't see. I can't say it wasn't a red card, we need to trust in the referees and VAR. Difficult to judge because I didn't see it.

»Being honest, it was in front of me but I didn't see and now I still didn't see. I can't say it wasn't a red card, we need to trust in the referees and VAR. Difficult to judge because I didn't see it."

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