Montenegro international Milutin Osmajic has been sanctioned with an eight-game ban. The sanction was passed after it was established that the Preston forward bit Owen Beck, the 25-year-old Liverpool loanee to Blackburn Rovers. The biting incident happened during a 0-0 draw between Preston and Blackburn in the Championship. Osmajic was fouled towards the end of the tie and in the confrontation that ensued appeared to have bitten Beck on the neck. Beck was subsequently sent off for having kicked Osmajic’s teammate Duane Holmes. However, the Montenegrin escaped punishment during the game, despite Beck appearing to tell referee Matthew Donohue, “he bit me.”
Nevertheless, investigation into the incident has found Beck guilty and now he has been hit with a ban and a fine.
Remember that former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez was handed a 10-match ban in 2014 after a similar incident involving him and Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic. Suarez had objected to the punishment, estimating his offence to warrant no more than a three-game suspension.
To confirm Osmajic’s punishment, the FA communicated in a statement that, “Preston North End’s Milutin Osmajic has been given an eight-match suspension and £15,000 fine for misconduct during their match against Blackburn Rovers in EFL Championship on Sunday 22 September. The forward admitted that he committed an act of violent conduct around the 87th minute by biting an opponent. An independent Regulatory Commission imposed his sanctions following a hearing.”
Preston acknowledged the decision of the FA’s Independent Regulatory Commission in a post on social media platform X. It reads, “We acknowledge the decision of an independent Regulatory Commission to give Milutin Osmajić an eight-match suspension and fine the striker £15,000.”
Osmajic continued to appear for Preston during the investigation, picking up a brace against Watford on Wednesday. Preston manager Paul Heckingbottom has disclosed he has no intention of imposing further punishment on the player. He said, “I’m not going to punish him twice, me twice, the club twice, the fans twice. We’ll wait and see what the governing body does, and how we deal with that, and that process is ongoing.”
