Prutton puts his case to football chiefs

Southampton midfielder David Prutton is set to plead for leniency when he goes before Football Association disciplinary chiefs today.

Prutton looks certain to be hit with a lengthy suspension after admitting two charges of improper conduct following his clash with referee Alan Wiley at St Mary's last weekend.

He will be joined at the hearing by Saints boss Harry Redknapp, who admitted after last night's FA Cup victory against Brentford that the FA will throw the book at his player.

He said: "David has made a big mistake and he knows it. I can't condone what he's done. He was out of order but he knows that.
"He's a decent lad. He over-reacted badly for some reason - he had a rush of blood from somewhere. Off the pitch you couldn't meet a nicer lad.
"He's been so low since Saturday. He's going to get quite a punishment but he's embarrassed by what he's done," added Redknapp, who celebrates his 58th birthday today.
Prutton - who missed the Brentford clash through suspension - has issued a public apology for his actions and will be hoping his expression of remorse will result in a lighter sentence.
But he can still expect a seven-match ban as although Wiley did not fall over, as Paul Alcock did when he was infamously pushed by Paolo di Canio, the offence was still effectively the same.
The FA revealed on their website, www.theFA.com: "Southampton's David Prutton has admitted two charges of improper conduct in relation to an incident following his sending-off against Arsenal on February 26.
"The first charge relates to his failure to leave the field of play promptly following his dismissal and his attempt to remonstrate with the assistant referee, during which he pushed the referee on at least one occasion.
"The second charge relates to his threatening words and/or behaviour towards a match official."