Defender Ryan Andrews has been found guilty by the FA of breaching rule E3.1 following being sent off at Sunderland and has received a further one-match ban and been fined £500.

Andrews was sent off in the closing stages of the 2-0 defeat at the Stadium of Light after being shown a straight red card by referee Andy Davies for a lunge on the home side’s Jack Clarke.

Rule E3.1 states: ‘A Participant shall at all times act in the best interests of the game and shall not act in any manner which is improper or brings the game into disrepute or use any one, or a combination of, violent conduct, serious foul play, threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting words or behaviour.’

The defender denied that his behaviour after the 86th-minute dismissal was improper, but an independent Regulatory Commission subsequently found the charge against him to be proven.

The written reasons for the Commission’s decision will be published in due course.

The straight red card automatically earned Andrews a three-game ban, one of which was served during the 1-1 draw at Cardiff.

However, he will now be sidelined for Saturday’s home game with Sheffield Wednesday, the trip next Tuesday to Swansea City, and now also the home game with Millwall on October 28.

The next time he will be available for selection is when Watford travel to Huddersfield on Saturday November 4.