Stoke's Tony Pulis likely to fine Ricardo Fuller for 'stupid' stamping

Tony Pulis will speak to Ricardo Fuller on Monday and is expected to fine the Stoke City striker for the "stupid" reaction which saw him sent off for stamping on Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic at Stamford Bridge. Fuller had not started a Premier League game for more than a year but lasted only 25 minutes on Saturday before reacting furiously to the Serbian defender's tackle, the pair having already tussled three times during the contest's opening exchanges. The red card was the sixth of Fuller's career, and his fourth for violent conduct, and will prompt an automatic three-match suspension. "I don't see that as being physical – the word to use is 'stupid'," said the Stoke manager Pulis. "It was a poor reaction. Ricardo has been a great player at the football club, and I mean a great player. He is one of the best players we have had in lots of respects. Technically, physically, he is a powerhouse when he plays and I have got a lot of time for him. But if you look at his record, he has got that in him. "He snaps easily and his reaction off the challenge from Ivanovic just was not acceptable. Straight after the game he was the first to apologise. "He is a great lad, a lovely man and I have got a lot of time for him. But what he did today was unacceptable and there is no hiding from the fact he should not have done it."