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James Bree faces FA retrospective punishment after 'blatant cheating' vs West Brom
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- James Bree faces FA retrospective punishment after 'blatant cheating' vs West Brom
Keith Hackett has ripped into Southampton's James Bree for "blatant cheating" in his side's 1-1 draw with West Brom on Tuesday night.
Isaac Price's first-half penalty strike looked to be sending the Baggies into the Championship's automatic promotion spots before a Samuel Edozie equaliser in the 53rd minute.
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James Morrison's side were on top for most of the game at The Hawthorns, but many Albion fans will no doubt see the draw as a very good result against a side that's been flying up the table in recent weeks.
However, one of the biggest talking points after the game was an incident where Saints defender Bree appeared to fake a head injury in order to stop a promising Baggies attack.
After two great crosses into the box by Price, that could have led to a West Brom goal, Bree went down clutching his head motionless.
Referee Josh Smith blew his whistle to stop play, with the events that followed angering Baggies fans.
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James Bree accused of putting players' safety at risk
As soon as Smith stopped play for an apparent head injury, he called on the Southampton physios to take a look at the apparently-stricken defender.
However, as soon as they were about to make their way onto the pitch, Bree waves the physios away and shot up like nothing had happened.
Former Premier League referee Hackett has torn the former Aston Villa player to shreds for his actions, accusing him of not only cheating, but also putting other players' safety at risk by making officials less likely to take these incidents seriously.
"Feigning that you have an head injury is frankly unacceptable because players are aware that referees will take a cautious approach and stop play in the interests of player welfare," Hackett told West Brom News.
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"The actions of this player is blatant cheating and I would have liked the referee to have issued this player with a yellow card for unsporting behaviour.
"There is a risk that this type of action might influence in future games the referee to allow the game to continue when the player is injured.
"The FA should look at taking retrospective action in this type of case.
"A letter outlining concerns from The FA warning the risk of this action by the player is putting at risk players safety in future games."
Franny Benali aghast as West Brom do something vs Southampton he's not seen before How Andy Johnson reacted as Southampton cheat - again
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Ex-West Brom star Andy Johnson was also furious with the incident.
Speaking on WBA TV, he said: "Oh, come on, referee. Not a chance. Not a chance.
"He's holding his head, he's saying, 'no, no [to the physios]'.
"You've got to start cracking down on this. You really have, otherwise it'll just keep happening."
West Brom's draw with Southampton saw them drop to fifth place in the league.
Meanwhile the Saints are in sixth, one point behind the Baggies and already four points down for a serious case of cheating last season.
