BEVERLY HILLS, February 04, (THEWILL) –Â The attempt by English Premier League club Arsenal to appeal against the decision to send off David Luiz during Tuesday’s defeat at Wolves has been dismissed by the English Football Association.
As reported by THEWILL, the Arsenal Brazilian centre back was sent off for the third time since he moved to the Emirates from Stamford Bridge.
In his absence, Arsenal ceded control of the game which resulted in a 2-1 loss. Luiz’s red card came after he was adjudged by referee Craig Pawson to have committed a last-man foul on Wolves striker Jose in first-half stoppage-time on Tuesday.
Although contact appeared to be minimal, the decision was upheld by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) Jon Moss. This will come as a disappointment for Gunners boss Mikel Arteta, who had been “very hopeful” of getting the decision overturned, as he believed it was not fair to put the blame on Luiz.
As unsavoury as it is for them at the Emirates, Arsenal have accepted the FA’s decision. In a terse statement about the appeal loss, the club said:
“We have worked really hard to overturn David Luiz’s red card. We presented our case to the FA but are disappointed that our appeal has been unsuccessful.
“We accept the FA’s decision and continue our preparations for Saturday’s match against Aston Villa.”
However, in a twist of fortunes, another EPL club Southampton, who filed a similar appeal on behalf of their own defender Jan Bednarek, successfully had his red card dismissal against Manchester United overturned by the FA.
They will, therefore, be able to field him for Saturday’s trip to Newcastle. Just like in Arsenal’s case, Bednarek was sent off for a last-man foul on United’s Anthony Martial during the Saints’ 9-0 hammering at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
Initially, referee Mike Dean awarded a spot-kick but only checked for a possible red card offence on the pitchside monitor when notified by VAR Graham Scott, the VAR.
According to the rules, if last-man defenders bring down attackers without attempting to play the ball, they will be sent off. Sticking to the letter of the book, Dean opted to show Bednarek a red.
The centre back himself did not agree with the decision and could be heard saying “Martial said it’s not a foul” before walking down the tunnel for an early bath. He will return to the squad with the positive decision on his sending off by the FA.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
