Pascal Struijk’s red card overturned after VAR dismissal

Brighton defender Pascal Struijk’s red card against Sunderland has been overturned after a successful claim of wrongful dismissal, BBC Sport reports. He will not serve a one-match ban and is available for Brighton’s Premier League match against Crystal Palace this weekend. [1]

Struijk was sent off in the 57th minute of Brighton’s 2–0 win at Sunderland, according to the BBC report. Referee Thomas Bramall and his assistant had initially given no foul when Struijk was judged to have brought down Wilson Isidor as the forward chased a through-ball. VAR Neil Davies called Bramall to the pitchside monitor, after which the referee showed a straight red card for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity. [1]

BBC Sport football issues correspondent Dale Johnson argued that there was too much doubt about whether Isidor would reach the ball ahead of goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen for VAR to intervene. The BBC report does not state the appeal body’s precise reasoning. [1]