FA hands Aston Villa £25,000 disciplinary fine after referee Mike Dean booked six

Aston Villa have been hit with a £25,000 fine by the Football Association after having six players booked and one sent off at Wolves.

Villa were furious after Douglas Luiz was dismissed by referee Mike Dean after a second caution, while Jack Grealish, John McGinn, Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa and Matt Targett were all booked.

Douglas Luiz is suspended for Thursday’s Premier League game against Burnley, while Cash will also be absent after picking up five bookings this season.

The FA punishes clubs who accrue more than five bookings in a game, and there were 11 in total as Villa secured a 1-0 win at Molineux on Saturday.

Mike Dean’s performance was also notable as he awarded the 3,000th yellow card of his career as an official.

Dean Smith, Villa’s head coach, said: “I’ve looked back at the game, obviously, and there were a lot of strange yellow cards. 

“It was a niggly game, nothing more than that, there wasn’t really a lot of tackles you’d consider as yellow cards, so that was probably the frustrating part. 

“Douglas’s first, the lad has just gone down, and it didn’t warrant a yellow card. It’s disappointing and I’m not sure what the repercussions are with that, we’ll wait and see.

“I think it’s extremely harsh when somebody gets a second yellow when we all feel it wasn’t a second yellow and has to miss the next game. The rule has been in place for a long time and I can’t see it changing.”

Smith, meanwhile, has said that Douglas Luiz and Konsa could be in line for new contracts later this season.

Douglas has impressed since his £15 million move from Manchester City, while Konsa is performing consistently in his second season at Premier League level.

Smith said: “There will be ongoing discussions with the sporting director, and representatives of our players. 

“I’m not sure who we’re talking to but Douglas is obviously one who I think has a big future at this football club. Ezri Konsa is another one, but a lot of our players are on long-term contracts anyway. We’ve got a lot of players tied up looking at the future.”