LONDON – West Ham United midfielder Manuel Lanzini has been banned for two games for diving to win a penalty, England's Football Association announced on Tuesday.
“Manuel Lanzini will serve a two-match suspension with immediate effect after his denial of a charge of 'Successful Deception of a Match Official' was rejected,” the FA said in a statement.
West Ham were awarded a spot-kick, which Mark Noble scored to put them ahead, during Saturday's 3-0 win at Stoke City after Lanzini went to ground when challenged by Erik Pieters.
Video replays showed Pieters had not made contact and the FA charged Lanzini with the office, which an independent regulatory commission upheld at a hearing on Tuesday.
Argentinian playmaker Lanzini will miss West Ham's League Cup quarter-final at Arsenal on Tuesday and Saturday's Premier League encounter at home to Newcastle United.
Stoke manager Mark Hughes was enraged by Lanzini's antics, but his West Ham counterpart David Moyes said he was “a bit surprised” the 24-year-old had been charged.
Lanzini is the second player to have been retrospectively charged with simulation after Everton's Oumar Niasse, who was banned for two games last month.
The Premier League introduced retrospective punishments for simulation at the start of the season.