The red card Gabriel received from Mike Dean for kicking out at Diego Costa in the London derby last weekend has been rescinded by the FA.
Gabriel was initially given a 3 match ban for showing violent conduct towards an opponent (Diego Costa) after he back heeled Diego’s shin. Arsenal appealed the red card yesterday and as a result it has been rescinded with immediate effect meaning he can play in tomorrow’s game against Tottenham in the Capital One Cup.
The FA have shown clear inconsistency in recent seasons and will continue to show unfair treatment towards teams such as Chelsea it seems.
If Gabriel had received a second yellow for his kick out at Costa, his ban would still stand as red cards for two yellow cards can’t be appealed and rescinded. Therefore by rescinding Gabriel’s red card they are saying it didn’t merit a straight red card but it merited another yellow as they have acknowledged he acted wrongly towards Costa and Chelsea by charging him for improper conduct. But their illogical rules state you can’t go back and give a player a yellow card, you can only go back and give them a red card effectively. Therefore he gets away with it but in theory the FA are saying he should of had a red but not a straight red card. There is no logic in their decision.
Diego Costa meanwhile had until 6pm today (UK Time) to appeal against his charge from the FA for alleged violent conduct shown towards Laurent Koscielny. Costa is likely to get a 3 match ban tomorrow.
