Ipswich Town boss Paul Lambert has been fined by the FA for his comments about referee Kevin Johnson following Town’s loss to Lincoln City.

East Anglian Daily Times: Referee Kevin Johnson at Lincoln City. Picture PagepixReferee Kevin Johnson at Lincoln City. Picture Pagepix (Image: Pagepix Ltd 07976 935738)

The Blues boss must pay £1,750 after admitting an FA charge which accused him of bringing the game into disrepute following his post-match interview, in which he insisted ‘we didn’t lose to Lincoln, we lost to the guy in the middle’ after a disputed penalty decided the loss to the Imps.

Lambert was shown a red card following the game for his protestations and was banned from the touchline for the victory over Gillingham - which he missed in any case while awaiting the results of a coronavirus test – and has now been punished again after apologising for his comments at a virtual hearing.

MORE: ‘We never lost to Lincoln, we lost to the guy in the middle’ – Lambert shown red card after 1-0 loss“I’ve sent my apologises to the referee for any offence my comments may have caused,” Lambert said.

“They were said in the heat of the moment after a game where I felt we lost because of the ‘wrong’ decision to award a penalty to Lincoln.

“My comments were aimed at his judgment calls during the game and not his integrity as a referee.”

Town have previously been fined £2,500 for the ‘mass confrontation’ which followed Jon Nolan’s red card in the loss to Sincil Bank,