Arsenal appealing Eddie Nketiah red card and hope to learn of decision before Tottenham clash
Arsenal are appealing Eddie Nketiah’s red card against Leicester City.
The striker was sent off against the Foxes on Tuesday night, just four minutes after coming off the bench, for a high challenge on defender James Justin.
Initially referee Chris Kavanagh showed Nketiah a yellow card for the tackle but, after a lengthy VAR review and consulting the pitch-side monitor, he upgraded it to a red.
Nketiah is now facing the prospect of a three-game ban for the dismissal and he would miss Premier League matches against Tottenham and Liverpool, as well as next week’s FA Cup semi-final with Manchester City.
Arsenal are challenging Nketiah’s red card in the hope the decision will be overturned on the grounds of wrongful dismissal.
If that fails, the club are hoping the 21-year-old’s ban will be reduced under the terms of a three-game ban being deemed excessive punishment.
The FA have a system in place meaning decisions around incidents such as this can be fast tracked, so Arsenal should hear before this weekend whether Nketiah is available to play against Tottenham on Sunday.
Mikel Arteta argued on Tuesday night Nketiah’s red card was harsh, adding how there was no intent from the young striker to injure Justin.
“He didn’t see the player coming and obviously he doesn’t want to hurt anybody,” said Arteta.
Arsenal appealed a similar red card back in January when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was sent off against Crystal Palace.
The forward was shown a yellow card for a tackle on midfielder Max Meyer, but it was upgraded to a red after referee Paul Tierney consulted the pitch-side monitor.
Arsenal failed with an appeal of the incident and Aubameyang’s three-game ban remained in place.
As is the case with any appeal, the FA can decide to increase a ban if they judge attempts to overturn it are frivolous.
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