Michael Keane is back in the headlines after the Football Association rejected an appeal from Everton to overturn his red card.
The England international was harshly dismissed by Tom Kirk during the 1-1 draw against Wolves on Wednesday, after the VAR decided the Everton No.5 had engaged in violent conduct when pulling the hair of Tolu Arokodare while challenging for a header.
David Moyes was furious about both the initial verdict and the rejected appeal, saying: “There’s a panel that sits and does it and I have to question the three of them. I know who the three are and I’m absolutely amazed that in some way they didn’t overturn it.”
The Glaswegian will be even more livid when he finds out an official Premier League rule was overlooked during that controversial draw at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Wednesday.
Michael Keane should only have been sent off had he not been challenging for the ball
The official Premier League rulebook actually states that a tug of the hair is only a case of violent conduct when a player is not competing for the ball.
It reads: “A player who is not challenging for the ball will be sent off if they make a clear action to pull the hair of an opponent or any other person with force.”
Can you name the other three? 🤔
Still cannot believe Keane was sent of for this!
Keane was quite clearly trying to beat Arokodare in an aerial duel, so the incident was by no means an off-the-ball action.
How this piece of information managed to escape Kirk, Chris Kavanagh on VAR duty and the trio on the FA panel who analysed the incident following Everton’s appeal is truly beyond us.
The rejected appeal is most likely the end of the matter unfortunately, but Moyes has to make a complaint and bring this rule to the FA’s attention to seek further clarification, as it seems like Everton have been the victims of a total officiating mess on this occasion.
Everton could be hit by further punishment from the FA
Keane was not the only Everton player sent off against Wolves, as Jack Grealish also picked up a second yellow card for sarcastically applauding a decision from Kirk – who was paid £1,116 for the game.
The Everton No.18 only received a one-match ban, as it was not a straight red card for violent conduct.
Would you even pay £30m for Jack Grealish? 🫣
However, Grealish has now hit out at the FA – calling them “embarrassing” after they decided to uphold Keane’s suspension.
The Mirror believe his outburst on social media could land the attacking midfielder in further trouble with the FA – potentially on the basis of bringing the game into disrepute.
Hopefully, that does not turn out to be the case, as the FA have already done enough to wrong Everton.
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