Dean Smith to accept FA charge after being sent off in Villa's defeat at Man City on Wednesday; Smith asked officials if they had "juggling balls for Christmas" after allowing controversial City goal; watch Aston Villa vs Newcastle on Saturday, live on Sky Sports from 7:30pm
Friday 22 January 2021 17:38, UK
Dean Smith will "reluctantly accept" his FA charge after clashing with the officials in Aston Villa's defeat at Manchester City on Wednesday but says he does not regret his comments.
Smith was sent off by referee Jon Moss following Bernardo Silva's controversial opening goal in City's 2-0 win at the Etihad and revealed after the game he had asked the officials if they had "got juggling balls for Christmas".
The Villa boss had been angered by the decision not to penalise City midfielder Rodri for coming from an offside position to tackle Tyrone Mings and help set up Silva's strike.
Smith was charged by the Football Association on Thursday with using "abusive and/or insulting language towards a match official", and asked how he would respond to the charge, said: "I will reluctantly accept it.
"I will accept the charge of insulting the officials. I certainly didn't abuse them. That'll be the end of the matter.
"I don't really regret it. That's just my way of dealing with the situation - a touch of sarcasm."
Immediately after the defeat to City, Smith said he had been treated "unfairly" by Moss, who he said "couldn't wait to give me a yellow card and then a red".
Smith says his first yellow was for the 'juggling balls' comment, while the second yellow was for something that "doesn't need to be censored".
Following the match, it was explained that a caveat in the laws of the game meant that Rodri became onside when Mings played the ball, although even former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher described it as an "unpalatable loophole".
Smith said: "The laws of the game have been explained by everybody. It's an obscure law that I don't think anybody understood at the time, including both managers. It was quite a unique situation.
"But if Dermot's saying it's unpalatable... that's how I felt it was."
Smith's side have an opportunity to move on from their defeat at City when they host Newcastle in the Premier League on Saturday night, live on Sky Sports.
But they will do so without Conor Hourihane after the midfielder was allowed to join Championship side Swansea on loan until the end of the season.
Smith accepts the 29-year-old's exit does not come without risk, although he feels it presents an opportunity to 19-year-old midfielder Jacob Ramsey to add to his tally of six Premier League appearances this season.
"It was a calculated risk but I also feel young Jacob Ramsey has stepped up to the plate and he's ready for Premier League action," explained Smith. "He was unlucky that he didn't score a goal at Manchester City when he came on in the week.
"We've got Douglas Luiz, we've got Marvelous Nakamba, Ross Barkley, John McGinn... I've got a number of players in that area.
"Conor was frustrated that he wasn't getting minutes and he's a player that wants to play, which is what I really admire about him.
"Sometimes you have to sit back and take the player's views on board as well. I think it was a good decision for both Conor and the football club, because he goes out and gets games and comes back in the summer to Aston Villa."
The winter transfer window is open until Monday, February 1 at 11pm.
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