Here are your Cardiff City headlines for Friday, January 31.

Riza hit with three-match ban

Cardiff City manager Omer Riza has been handed a three-match ban and a £3,500 fine following his sending off against Swansea City.

The Bluebirds boss had a coming-together with Swansea midfielder Goncalo Franco, who collided with him near his technical area during Cardiff's 3-0 win over their arch rivals earlier this month.

READ MORE: Cardiff City close in on move for Leicester City winger in bid to address transfer priority

READ MORE: Manolis Siopis announces Cardiff City departure and issues statement to fans

Riza reacted furiously and entered the playing field, charging after the Swansea man to confront him about his actions. Riza later said he was "unhappy with his actions" after being charged with misconduct by the FA.

Although wanting to keep his counsel on what actually happened with the Swans man, he claims there were "three or four instances" during the match that were aimed at him by Franco.

He also asked for the powers-that-be to show "some compassion" in light of the circumstances surrounding the row.

"I wasn't happy with my own actions if I'm being honest, very uncharacteristic of me," said Riza at his pre-Derby County press conference.

"But sometimes you're fuelled by things that happen. There's three or four instances in the game from Franco that I wasn't happy with, aimed at me."

The incident occurred just 48 hours after the death of the Bluebirds' boss' father in an already highly-charged atmosphere at Cardiff City Stadium. Riza pleaded with the FA to "show some compassion" in the circumstances, but that has not been the case and he will now miss Cardiff's next three games, meaning he will not be in the dugout for the clash with Leeds United at Elland Road tomorrow.

He will miss Leeds, Stoke City in the FA Cup and Portsmouth. Sign up to our daily Cardiff City newsletter here.

Simic to get first outing

Roko Simic will don the Cardiff City shirt for the first time tomorrow when he plays for the under-21s against Everton.

The young Bluebirds host their top-flight counterparts tomorrow at midday in the Premier League Cup. Matt Bloxham's side top the group with just one game remaining.

And it is understood that striker Simic will play his first game in City colours in Leckwith. The Croatian forward has endured a tough spell of it so far this season, with a mixture of injury and falling out of favour ruining his loan spell with sister club KV Kortrijk.

However, he has returned to Cardiff, after signing from RB Salzburg in the summer, and will likely feel he has a point to prove if he is to force his way into contention ahead of Callum Robinson, new signing Yousef Salech, the returning Isaak Davies and potentially Will Lankshear, who is a loan target from Tottenham.

It will be the first glimpse City fans get of the forward and many will likely be watching on with anticipation.

Ahead of the game, Bloxham said: "We always knew entering this competition would provide different challenges to our usual games programme, Everton being an example of that as they're a category one side. We know how strong they are, but we're relishing the challenge and embracing it. We'll look to take the game to them and show an intensity to our performance, similar to when we played them away.

"The game in itself allows us the opportunity to compare ourselves to a category one opposition, but it also allows our players who are currently stepping into the U21 environment to get a marker of where they need to get to and beyond.

"It's been a really positive cup campaign for us, because it has allowed the opportunity to play against those teams. We've been largely positive in our performances; we've been able to compete and excel in games, but we want to take the next step now and qualify for the next round. It's in our hands, so important that we relish and enjoy the pressure."

Schumacher: Bolton have chased Etete for years

New Bolton boss Steven Schumacher says Kion Etete has been tracked by the club "for a number of years" as the striker becomes the manager's first signing at the club.

Schumacher was named the new boss just yesterday and one of his first acts in the hot-seat was to sign Etete, who signed a two-year deal with the Bluebirds beforehand, on loan for the rest of the campaign.

Schumacher said: “Kion is a player we’ve talked about, who the club has tracked for a number of years, given his pedigree and attributes, and someone I have also been an admirer of during his time in the Championship and on loan in the EFL.

“What’s really important, though, is that we don’t expect too much too soon of him. His game minutes at Cardiff have been limited this season and it’s important we don’t rush him but make sure he’s ready to do what we want him to when the time is right.

“We have three months left of the season and we have time to build him up further and get him fully integrated into our plans. His track record shows that he will make a big contribution when he’s ready to play and he will definitely give us another option to the way we are able to attack teams in what could be a pivotal phase during the final third of the campaign.”

Etete has been out all season with a hamstring injury sustained on the pre-season tour of Austria. He said he is almost up to speed now and that his goal is to find the back of the net as many times as possible between now and the end of the campaign.

"To just score and assist as many goals as possible. And win games, that's the most important games," Etete said. "As a striker, you want to be selfish, but to win games, that's enough for me."

He added: “It’s definitely the right move at the right time. I just want to build here and get to where we want to be. I had a tough start to the season, getting injured in pre-season, but I’m coming out the other end of it and just need to build up to get 90 minutes again and then hopefully you’ll see the best of me.

“There’s a long way to go in the season and once I get back to where I know I can you’ll see the best of me and I’ll give my all.

“There’s a brand-new manager here and I’m looking forward to seeing how we can do even better than we already are. I’ve trained and seen the players that are here, so we definitely have the ability to go all the way.”

WHATSAPP: Join the Cardiff City breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community

Farke: Cardiff are aggressive and play with team spirit - we have to be on it

Leeds United manager Daniel Farke has heaped praise on Cardiff City and believes his team need to be "on it" if they are to avoid an upset at Elland Road.

The league leaders welcome Cardiff, who are at the bottom end of the table but are one of the form sides in the league, to west Yorkshire this weekend with the Bluebirds on an unbeaten run of nine games in all competitions.

The last time these two sides met, by contrast, it turned out to be Erol Bulut's last game in charge, with City winless in their first six games of the campaign. But the uplift in form under Omer Riza of late has seen Farke sit up and take notice.

"Eight games unbeaten. Pretty good in the form table and are really on a good run. They've had some impressive performances not only in the cup but in the league, some really good results," the Leeds boss said.

"For that they will come with confidence and have collected many points. I think they will come with confidence, and also a bit of freedom due to their good results. The big pressure has gone away, so they can play with confidence and freedom.

"We have to make sure we are on. Cardiff are a really good team, they play with intensity, being aggressive and they try to go for it. They are quite intense and aggressive in the duels. They play with really good team spirit, you can see it on the pitch. We have to move the ball quick and keep the tempo high.

"We also have to be aware because this is a side who will be there on the counter attack and create dangerous situations to go for it. They have players who have played many games and are well known in this league. For that we have to be on it - I am respectful."