'Act of brutality' claim as FA publishes reasons for rejecting Jhon Duran red card appeal
The Football Association has published their reasons for rejecting Aston Villa's appeal against Jhon Duran's three-match ban for violent conduct in the defeat at Newcastle United on Boxing Day.
The striker was given his marching orders after being adjudged to have stamped on Fabian Schar following a tackle from the Newcastle centre-back. Referee Anthony Taylor brandished the red card and VAR Graham Scott agreed with the on-field decision.
Villa were disappointed by the outcome of their appeal, which saw the striker miss matches against Brighton, Leicester City and now Friday night's FA Cup tie against West Ham.
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In order for Villa's claim of wrongful dismissal to be successful, they had to establish that the referee made an obvious error in sending Duran off. Villa submitted three video clips of the incident which the FA claim clearly showed the incident from numerous angles and distances in both slow motion and real time.
Within these clips there was also zoomed-in and highlighted footage and stills of the left foot of Duran that twisted and turned over during the incident. Villa also submitted a letter from Sharon Barnhurst, their head of football administration, dated December 27, that set out why the dismissal was wrong. She also claimed a three-match suspension would be excessive.
Three distinct opinions emerged from the commission's discussions on the incident. One of the commission members felt Duran was well aware of what he was doing when he stepped on the back of Schar, adding that he had the time and opportunity to take evasive action.
It was claimed that Duran initially appeared to be doing so but then chose to bring his right boot down and rake it across the back of his opponent. This was deemed 'an obvious act of brutality' and as such the commission believed the referee had been correct to dismiss Duran.
But another member of the commission felt Duran could not have avoided stepping on his opponent due to the proximity of the player and the speed at which he was moving when they went to ground.
This member felt the reason Duran appeared to bring his right boot down on the back of his opponent was because his left ankle had turned over, resulting in his weight and momentum shifting to the left. Therefore, this member did not believe Duran had used excessive force or brutality against his opponent.
The remaining commission member felt it was difficult to say with any conviction whether or not Duran had used excessive force or brutality against his opponent. Viewing the footage from behind, they claimed it did appear as if Duran had consciously made a second movement with his right leg, initially moving it out in order to avoid contact before bringing it back to stand on his opponent.
Villa's claim for wrongful dismissal was therefore deemed, by a 2-1 majority decision, to have been unsuccessful. In respect to the claim for 'excessive punishment', the commission members were unanimous that there was nothing within the circumstances of the incident that could be said to be 'truly exceptional' and as such this element of the claim was also unsuccessful.
