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Former Luton Town defender Tom Lockyer is at risk of a lengthy ban from football despite escaping a red card for his part in an off-the-ball clash on Tuesday.
Lockyer helped Luton reach the Premier League in 2022/23 but collapsed during the Championship play-off final at Wembley, which the Hatters ultimately won on penalties against Coventry City.
Lockyer says he 'never elbowed someone intentionally' after Kane Drummond incident
The football world rallied behind Lockyer in the aftermath of his on-field heart issues but public opinion has turned this week. Lockyer, never a shrinking violet on the pitch before or after he collapsed at Wembley, was at the centre of the major talking point in Rovers' League Two loss at Oldham Athletic.
With the score at 1-0 to Oldham in the first half at Boundary Park, Latics scorer Kane Drummond ran past Lockyer in midfield as the ball sailed over their heads after it was launched by home goalkeeper Mathew Hudson.
Lockyer appeared to stop Drummond in his tracks with an elbow, and while the footage of the incident is distant, it doesn't look good for the Rovers man.
It had the makings of a particularly dangerous connection and there's every chance further disciplinary action will follow. On the night, both Lockyer and Drummond were shown the yellow card by referee Scott Oldham. No relation.
Social media quickly lit up with condemnation for the apparent elbow after the clip was shared, but Lockyer issued a statement on his Instagram on Wednesday.
"Thanks for all the abusive messages Oldham fans," posted the former Luton defender on Instagram Stories. "Few things I want to state as facts.
"I've never elbowed someone intentionally in my whole career. The ref was looking straight at the incident after what happened 10 seconds before and booked your player for holding his head when not one part of me touched his head.
"I put my arm across his chest. If there was any actual proper footage in HD we wouldn't even be talking about this.
"Your player accepted the yellow as he knew I didn't touch his head."
Lockyer can expect to explain the situation again in a more formal setting. The football authorities take a dim view of such incidents and are bound to review the footage, the referee's report and the player's statement before deciding whether to issue a charge.
Coventry forward Brandon Thomas-Asante is due to return from a three-match ban when the Sky Blues visit his former club, West Bromwich Albion, in the Championship on Saturday.
It was retrospectively ruled that Thomas-Asante had elbowed Norwich City's Pelle Mattsson, an incident that was not seen by the match officials.
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