By Paul Jones
Swansea City coach Alan Tate will sit out most of October in the stands – and be almost £1,000 lighter in the pocket – after being found guilty of violent conduct by the Football Association.
One of head coach Steve Cooper’s right-hand men, Tate will be missing from the technical area for upcoming games against Millwall, Huddersfield, Coventry and Bristol City.
Tate’s punishment comes after he was caught on camera at the Liberty Stadium on September 19 in an altercation with Birmingham City’s Jon Toral.
Tate was caught shoving the Birmingham midfielder at neck-height at half-time of the goalless draw.
Although referee Gavin Ward was not in a position to see what happened, footage of the incident was widely shared.
The FA confirmed Tate was charged with improper and violent conduct last week and the former defender has now been slapped with a four-match touchline ban.
Swansea coach Alan Tate has been charged by the FA after he clashed with Birmingham midfielder Jon Toral during Saturday’s Championship game.
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) September 22, 2020
He has also been fined £920 after admitting breaching the rules at a disciplinary hearing.
The FA statement read: “His behaviour at half time of the EFL Championship fixture against Birmingham City FC on 19 September 2020 amounted to improper and violent conduct.”
Tate will miss Swansea’s home clashes against Millwall and Huddersfield and away games at Coventry – which will be played at St Andrew’s – and Bristol City.
Birmingham manager Aitor Karanka said at the time that he didn’t see the clash: “I didn’t see anything because I was in the tunnel. When I looked back I couldn’t see anything.
“The only thing I told them at half time was to forget what happened. I don’t care about what happened in the tunnel – the players showed their spirit on the pitch.
Alan Tate randomly grabbed Jon Toral by the throat as they went off. Moment of total madness by Tate and he can probably expect a ban for that.
— Guto Llewelyn (@GutoLlewelyn) September 19, 2020
“The referee has done what he has done. If the referee has seen something and not done anything then I don’t think he’s doing his job. If he didn’t say anything it’s because he didn’t see anything.”
Swansea boss Steve Cooper played down the incident, saying: “It certainly didn’t carry on down the tunnel because I went down there.
