Senegal international Niasse is first Premier League player to receive FA charge but Everton will be appealing, say Sky sources
Tuesday 21 November 2017 16:59, UK
Everton are to contest striker Oumar Niasse's FA charge, according to Sky sources.
The Senagalese forward was charged by the FA with an alleged act of simulation after a contentious penalty incident at Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Niasse has become the first Premier League player to receive the charge for 'successful deception of a match official', but Everton will be appealing.
The new law was introduced at the start of the season and Niasse could now become the first Premier League player to be hit with a retrospective ban for diving.
But the 27-year-old will only be handed a two-match suspension if the panel, which convenes to oversee his case unanimously, reject Niasse's argument that he was not guilty of the offence
Everton twice came from behind to earn a 2-2 draw at Selhurst Park.
Palace took the lead inside the first minute through James McArthur, but Everton levelled through Leighton Baines' penalty after Scott Dann was deemed to have fouled Niasse.
However, it is alleged the Everton striker committed an act of simulation which led to the penalty being awarded in the fifth minute of the game.
The incident was reviewed by an independent three-person panel which decided the match official had been deceived by an act of simulation.
The panel consisted of one ex-match official, one ex-manager and one ex-player and each panel member was asked to review all available video footage independently of one another to determine whether they considered it was an offence.
An FA charge followed their unanimous agreement.
