Deadline nears for FA to appeal against Dunn's anti-Islamic post sanction

The Football Association must decide on Friday if it wants to appeal the eight-week suspension and fine given to Millwall’s head of youth recruitment for a breach of their social media activity rules, relating to an anti-Islamic post.

Barry Dunn admitted to an aggravated breach of FA regulations relating to the social media post from another account that he retweeted on March 15. Dunn was also fined £525, ordered to attend a mandatory face-to-face education programme and received a reprimand and warning as to his future conduct.

The sanctions were handed down by an Independent Regulatory Commission, with the seven-day deadline to appeal expiring on Friday. The FA has been contacted for comment.

The FA successfully appealed against an Independent Regulatory Commission decision in January to issue a 17-month ban to John Yems from all football-related activity after the former Crawley Town manager admitted to one charge and was found guilty of a further 11 out of 16 charges for breaching FA Rule E3.2.

The FA appealed on the basis the sanction was insufficient and the commission had reached a decision to which no reasonable body could have come to. The appeal was upheld and Yems was subsequently banned for three years.

The FA had brought 16 breaches of FA Rule E3.2 against Yems over comments that "included a reference to ethnic origin and/or colour and/or race and/or nationality and/or religion or belief and/or gender" to Crawley players between 2019 and 2022 while he was manager