Cole ban a hammer-blow for Chelsea
Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole has been banned for two matches from December 22 and fined a total of 15,000 pounds ($25,780) after incidents when playing for West Ham United in April.
Cole was fined 10,000 pounds for improper conduct and using abusive and insulting language to a match official during West Ham's Premier League game at Bolton Wanderers last season.
And the 22-year-old, who joined Chelsea in the close season after West Ham were relegated, was fined another 5,000 pounds for improper conduct in a mass confrontation on the pitch, a Football Association spokesman said.
Cole, now an England squad regular, was also warned about his future conduct.
The relegation battle at the Reebok Stadium on April 19 had boiled over just before and again just after the final whistle as West Ham's Ian Pearce was sent off.
Bolton's 1-0 victory on the day went a long way to securing their survival and condemning West Ham to the First Division.
