FIFA end players' right to appeal red cards

FIFA announced yesterday that any player who is sent off will have to serve an immediate one-match ban with no right of appeal.

The ruling will be enforced in every league.

Red-carded players will miss the next match of the competition they were sent off in and be allowed to appeal only against suspensions of more than one game or to claim a case of mistaken identity.

The move will cause major changes in British disciplinary procedures, where until now dismissed players have had 14 days' leeway before they serve a suspension and where they have in the past escaped bans by using video evidence.

The edict applies to a player shown either a straight red or two yellow cards.

Arsene Wenger, who has seen 45 sending-offs in his six years at Arsenal, said: "I don't have a problem with that. If you can't appeal, it's better that you serve your suspension straight away."

FIFA's president Sepp Blatter said: "We must act to protect the referee's authority. When a player commits a foul [that leads to a sending-off], then no scientific evidence, whether camera or other, shall change this decision." Asked when the change would come into effect, Blatter said: "October 1st seems a good date to start."

The most notable recent English case of a straight red card being quashed centred on Newcastle's Alan Shearer, who was sent off, accused of elbowing. On appeal, referee Andy D'Urso studied the video and rescinded his decision.

The only situation in which a banished player can now escape would be mistaken identity.

Guardian Service