Sylvain Distin warns Everton's Marouane Fellaini following Stoke headbutt

17 December 2012 13:09
Sylvain Distin has warned team-mate Marouane Fellaini about coping with opponents who try to unsettle him.

Fellaini is facing a possible ban after appearing to headbutt Ryan Shawcross during the second-half of Everton's 1-1 draw with Stoke City on Saturday. He was also caught on camera elbowing and pushing the Stoke defender in retaliation for being held around the chest at a corner. Both Fellaini and manager David Moyes have offered their apologies for the incident, whilst the Belgium international midfielder stressed that he was afforded little protection by referee Mark Halsey. Distin told the Liverpool Echo:

"He is a good player for us and he's doing amazingly this season. He keeps scoring goals and if anything happens to him and he gets banned I guess it'll be a lesson for him.

"We were talking about it before the game with him. Those kinds of game they are going to try and frustrate him and he needs to make sure he doesn't react badly. It's a mistake and he will learn from it."

The FA will review video evidence of the incident, and could hand out a three-match ban, with Fellaini set to miss games against West Ham, Wigan and Chelsea. However, in theory, the Belgian could be banned for each incident if referee Halsey missed all three and retrospectively rules each was worthy of a red card. Moyes has already stated that Everton will not appeal a punishment. The details of any charges could be revealed on Monday.

Source: team_talk