Crystal Palace midfielder Ruesha Littlejohn will serve a five-match ban after her red card incident involving Leicester City’s Hannah Cain during a Women’s League Cup clash.
Ruesha Littlejohn denied three-match ban was “insufficient”
The FA released a statement on Friday to confirm that Littlejohn’s ban has been extended from three to five matches.
Players who are shown a red card for violent conduct are typically handed three-match bans, unless the FA believes the punishment is insufficient.
Littlejohn denied claims from the FA, which said that a three-match ban was “clearly insufficient”. However, the regulatory commission upheld the claim.
In a statement, the FA wrote: “The player was sent off in the 58th minute of a Women’s League Cup fixture against Leicester City on Sunday, November 23rd for violent conduct.
“The standard punishment for violent conduct is a three-match ban, but the FA claimed that this penalty is clearly insufficient, and Ruesha Littlejohn subsequently denied this claim.
“The regulatory commission upheld the claim; set aside the standard punishment and imposed the five-match suspension following a hearing.”
It was added that the commission will explain its decision in writing in due course.
Crystal Palace midfielder Ruesha Littlejohn could be set for a lengthy ban for this altercation against Leicester City. 🟥
The FA said its standard three-match punishment for the sending off was "clearly insufficient". pic.twitter.com/Lbllqhl9qk
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) November 25, 2025
Why was Littlejohn sent off?
Littlejohn was sent off after what some on social media described as a “WWE-style takedown” to Cain.
Leicester’s Olivia McLoughlin tangled with Crystal Palace’s Annabel Blanchard before Cain stepped in between the pair.
Littlejohn appeared to nudge Cain, who responded with a push in the back of the Republic of Ireland midfielder.
This was when Littlejohn appeared to grab Cain around her head and wrestled her down to the ground.
The 35-year-old was shown a red card, but Crystal Palace would still win the League Cup clash 3-0 to reach the quarter-finals.
Littlejohn looks set to miss WSL 2 clashes with Birmingham City, Bristol City and Sheffield United in the new year. She also is set to miss their FA Cup clash with Lewes and a League Cup quarter-final with Arsenal.
What has Littlejohn said about the incident?
Littlejohn spoke about the incident during a Republic of Ireland press conference, alongside Carla Ward.
The midfielder admitted she regrets the incident and “let her emotions spill over”.
She added: “I’m quite an emotional person and player. That’s not who I want to be on the pitch, so I will learn from it and move forward.”
Ireland head coach Ward also hit out at the “disgusting” abuse Littlejohn had received on social media since the incident.
The Ireland manager said: “She’s a human being. She’s someone’s daughter and sister. It’s not okay.
“I look at Ruesha, and it’s not just because I’ve got a long-standing relationship with her. Some of the stuff I’ve seen this week has been disgusting.”
Ward’s comments came after Keira Walsh revealed that the majority of WSL players have received online abuse.
