Nottingham Forest's Bong handed three-game ban for violent conduct

Nottingham Forest defender Gaetan Bong has been banned for the next three matches after he was found guilty of violent conduct in Saturday's Championship opener against Coventry City.

Bong struck Coventry City's Callum O'Hare during a set-play on the stroke of half-time, but the challenge was caught on camera as referee James Linington and his assistants did not see it.

After Forest's 2-1 defeat at Coventry, the Cameroon left-back was charged by the FA and he accepted the punishment that came with it.

He will consequently miss Nottingham Forest's League Cup clash against Bradford City on Wednesday followed by their Championship outings against AFC Bournemouth and Blackburn Rovers on August 14 and 18 respectively.

"Gaetan Bong will be suspended for Nottingham Forest FC's next three matches following a breach of FA Rule E1.1," read the statement via Sky Sports.

"The defender's behaviour during the 45th minute of their EFL Championship game against Coventry City FC on Sunday [08/08/21] was not seen by the match officials at the time but it was caught on camera.

"Gaetan Bong subsequently admitted that this behaviour constitutes violent conduct and he accepted the standard penalty"

Bong moved to the City Ground in January 2020 on a two-and-a-half-year deal after he left Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion.

Last season, he made just 10 Championship appearances for Chris Hughton's side who finished 17th on the league table.

On the international scene, the 33-year-old has not played for the Indomitable Lions since their unsuccessful campaign at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.

Bong's last game was Cameroon's group stage fixture against Ghana which ended in a goalless draw and he was on parade for 74 minutes.

The Sackbayeme-born defender, who made his Cameroon debut in an international friendly against Portugal in June 2010, will be hoping to earn a recall to Antonio Conceicao's set-up ahead of the 2022 Afcon tournament on home soil next January.