Christian Norgaard was given his marching orders during Everton vs Brentford at the weekend, and now the Premier League have made a decision on the incident.
Everton had the perfect opportunity to return to winning ways against Brentford at the weekend, as they played most of the game against ten men.
Christian Norgaard was given his marching orders for a studs-up challenge on Jordan Pickford that connected around his knee area. It was only given after a VAR review.
Alan Shearer wasn’t very happy with the decision as he claimed the referee should have stood his ground and remained with the on-field decision.
Interestingly, the FA have now given their views on the decision with a big announcement on Wednesday.
The FA announce Christian Norgaard’s red card has been overturned
Thomas Frank stated after the game that he would appeal the decision, and even used James Tarkowski and Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s reactions as proof that it wasn’t a red.
Jordan Pickford came out himself after the game and admitted it was a bad challenge, but he received an apology and knew the Brentford man didn’t mean it.
However, it seems as if it was the wrong decision, as the FA have made their announcement.
Christian Norgaard is now available to face Leicester City this weekend, as the FA have decided to overturn the red card given to the midfielder.
A surprising decision from the FA
Not many people at Everton would have expected this one to be overturned considering the fact that it could have caused serious damage to Jordan Pickford.
The connection on his knee forced his ankle to roll as his foot was planted, meaning he had to spin out of the tackle to try and limit the damage.
It’s evident that the player didn’t mean it and it was merely a follow through, but it was a high degree of danger, which is where player safety comes in.
It’s a good sign overall that players aren’t being punished harshly for just a follow through when trying to challenge for a bouncing ball, but it’s a slight surprise to see it deemed as wrong.
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