Crystal Palace Women's midfielder Ruesha Littlejohn has been given an extended five-match ban for violent conduct after grabbing an opponent by the neck and throwing her to the ground. The incident occurred during a League Cup game against Leicester on 23 November. Littlejohn was given a straight red card after putting her arm around the Leicester player's neck and slamming her head into the ground. The standard punishment for violent conduct is a three-game ban, however the Football Association pushed for an extended suspension as they felt the standard punishment was "clearly insufficient". Littlejohn will now be out of action until after the winter break and will miss several key matches, including a League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal and a WSL2 match against Birmingham. The veteran midfielder has said she "regretted" the incident and has acknowledged that it was a moment that she deeply regrets. Republic of Ireland manager Carla Ward has also spoken out about the incident, saying that Littlejohn had been subject to an "outpouring" of "disgusting" abuse after the incident. Ward has called for more to be done to protect players from abuse and has praised Littlejohn for acknowledging her mistake and taking responsibility for her actions.