UPDATE: Darren Drysdale has been charged by the FA following his altercation with Ipswich Town midfielder, Alan Judge.
After waving away Judge’s penalty claims, the player ran towards Drysdale to protest the decision.
Then in a bizarre turn of events, the referee seemingly squares up to Judge before brandishing a yellow card as both Ipswich and Northampton players separate the two.
Referee Darren Drysdale appeared to square up to Alan Judge before booking the Ipswich player in their goalless draw against Northampton this evening. pic.twitter.com/ZexMTxYIx7
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) February 16, 2021
An FA statement reads: “Darren Drysdale has been charged with a breach of FA Rule E3 following last night’s EFL League One game between Ipswich Town FC and Northampton Town FC.
“It is alleged that the match official’s behaviour during the 90th minute of the game amounts to improper conduct and he has until Thursday 4 March 2021 to provide a response.”
Drysdale had apologised for the confrontation, within a statement shared by The Professional Game Match Officials Board (PGMOL).
In the statement, Drysdale says: “I fully understand that it is important for us, as referees, to maintain our composure throughout the game, and always engage with the players in a professional manner. I’m sorry that I did not do that last night, and I can only apologise to Alan and Ipswich Town.”
Following the match, Ipswich manager Paul Lambert said he wants the EFL to investigate the incident.
“I’ve texted Mike Jones [EFL head of referees] this morning to say have a look at the footage of the head thing,” Lambert told Talksport.
“It looks as if the referee went in there and I said to him after the game, ‘Did you put your head in my player?’
“He couldn’t answer it and that’s the reason I spoke to Mike. I haven’t seen that in a long, long while.”
The Football Association has confirmed it is aware of the incident.
Featured image credit: Getty / Sky Sports