Brighton defender Struijk's red card overturned / Photo: Oli SCARFF - AFP
Brighton defender Struijk's red card overturned
The red card shown to Brighton defender Pascal Struijk at Sunderland following an intervention by the video assistant referee (VAR) has been overturned, the Premier League club announced Wednesday.
Struijk was sent off after 57 minutes of a Premier League match at the Stadium of Light on Saturday when he was ruled to have fouled Sunderland forward Wilson Isidor as he tried to run on to a through-ball.
Neither referee Thomas Bramall nor his assistants gave a foul initially, but VAR Neil Davies intervened and called Bramall to a screen by the side of the pitch.
After watching the replay several times, Bramall showed Struijk a straight red card for denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity.
The decision, greeted with disbelief by Brighton players, has now been reversed by the Regulatory Commission following a successful claim of wrongful dismissal.
Brighton, 1-0 up at the time of Struijk's exit, went on to win 2-0 despite being a man down for a valuable away victory that left them third in the table, five points behind leaders Manchester City.
Struijk will no longer have to serve a one-match ban and will now be available to face Crystal Palace in the Premier League this weekend.
The 27-year-old joined Brighton from Leeds in a £20 million ($26 million) move in the summer, and was making his second league start for Fabian Hurzeler's side.
(E.Ndlovu--TPT)
