West Ham have appealed Mohammed Kudus’ improper conduct charge, but the forward could still be hit with a lengthy ban.
Kudus was originally shown a yellow card after lashing out at Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven last weekend, but this was upgraded to a red card after a VAR review.
After his altercation with the defender, Kudus then also pushed Pape Matar Sarr in the face.
The Football Association charged the forward, alleging his behaviour after he was sent off was improper. West Ham and Tottenham were also charged for failing to control their players. While West Ham also contested this allegation, Spurs accepted a £20,000 fine.
Kudus will be banned for a minimum of three games but could face a longer spell on the sidelines if the FA find him guilty.
West Ham, who host Manchester United on Sunday, expect to hear the outcome of their case by the end of next week.
Head coach Julen Lopetegui said he had spoken to Kudus about his actions, adding that he believes some of the forward’s frustration had stemmed from Ghana’s results during the previous international break.
‘I think that he brings his frustration with his national team too, because they lost and drew their matches and that was bad.
‘It can never be one excuse to lose your balance, your head. I think that you have to use this frustration to do better and to work more, to have more spirit, to be able to overcome bad moments. But not to do this kind of behaviour because in this case you are working against you. He knows that.
‘He has to improve his temperament because this can’t happen. I am sure this will be the last time it happens. The only way to handle frustration is to focus on the match because these kind of behaviours ruin the match.
‘He will learn about this incident and his behaviour will be better in the future.’