Unhappy slapping

In a move unlikely to surprise anyone, Celestine Babayaro has been charged by the FA following his slap on Dirk Kuyt's face on Wednesday night.

Apparently, Babayaro has until Monday to respond to the charge, by which time he'll probably have played against Everton, and Olivier Bernard has inched towards match fitness. I suspect our response to the charge will depend entirely upon the fitness of our prodigal Frenchman. If he's fit enough to play, then I imagine we'll let Babayaro get on with his suspension, whereas, if we need him, I imagine we'll try and contest the charge.

Update: Babayaro pleaded guilty to the offence and has subsequently been handed a three game ban. It only applies to Premiership games, though, so he will be allowed to feature on Thursday in the return leg against FC Levadia Tallinn.