The English Football Association has handed Manchester City midfielder Ben Thatcher an eight-match suspension for his horrific high elbow to the face of Portsmouth’s Pedro Mendes last month. In addition to the suspension, Thatcher faces a 15-match ban if he commits a similar offense in the next two years. Interestingly enough, the 30-year-old defender was only handed a yellow card at the time of the offense by referee Dermot Gallagher, who failed to see Thatcher smash his forearm into Mendes’ face. The player has already served a two-match suspension imposed by Manchester City; he now has six more to go, which means Thatcher will be unavailable to City until the end of October. TV replays have shown the severity of the incident. All sides issued statements saying they accept the FA’s decision without question. Meanwhile, Manchester City has lodged in a claim to the FA over the wrongful dismissal of Ousmane Dabo against Reading on Monday night. The midfielder was shown a straight red for leading with his arm in an aerial challenger with Steve Sidwell during the club’s 1-0 away defeat. It was the second sending-off in four games for City, following Bernardo Corradi’s dismissal on the opening day against Chelsea. Incidentally, Thatcher was not sent off for his illegal challenge with Pedro Mendes, though he definitely should have been.