ARSENAL have decided to launch an appeal following Eddie Nketiah’s red card in the 1-1 draw against Leicester City.
The 21-year-old was sent off just four minutes after coming off the bench for a mistimed lunge on Foxes defender James Justin.
Arsenal have appealed Eddie Nketiah’s red card against Leicester CityCredit: AP:Associated Press
The Gunners striker was initially shown a yellow before he was later given his marching ordersCredit: AP:Associated Press
Referee Chris Kavanagh initially showed Nketiah a yellow card for the challenge but upgraded it to a red following a lengthy VAR review via the pitchside monitor at the Emirates.
It proved costly, with ten-men Arsenal failing to hold on to their narrow lead as Jamie Vardy bagged a late equaliser.
Nketiah didn’t even touch the ball in between coming on and heading back down the tunnel.
He is now facing a three-game ban that rules him out of their upcoming games against Tottenham and Liverpool, as well as the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City.
But according to the Mail, Arsenal are challenging Nketiah’s dismissal in the hope of getting the decision overturned on the grounds of wrongful dismissal or his ban reduced due to excessive punishment.
Fortunately for Mikel Arteta, he should discover the result of the Gunners appeal before Sunday’s north London derby trip to Spurs because of the FA’s fast-track processes.
The Arsenal head coach was left seething as Nketiah saw red while Leicester scorer Vardy escaped without punishment for catching Shkodran Mustafi in the face with his boot in the first-half.
Arteta said: “The red card, he [Nketiah] cannot see the player, you have to understand he is a young kid.
“If we review incidents of that type we review them all. It has to be something equal for everybody because it changes the game for everybody. If Eddie is a red card for sure the other is a red card.”
Team-mate Kieran Tierney added: “I had a view of the tackle. It looked accidental, I didn’t see it slowed like the referee but Eddie is not the player who would do anything like that.”
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta furious Nketiah was sent off after Leicester ace Vardy escaped red for kicking Mustafi in head
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
