Crystal Palace have appealed the red card shown to captain Luka Milivojevic in their defeat to Derby County in the FA Cup third round.
Milivojevic clashed with Derby midfielder Tom Huddlestone and not only kicked out at him, but also moved his head towards the former Tottenham man.
Referee Michael Oliver watched a replay of an incident between the two players and five minutes later overruled his original decision of a yellow card to send off the Eagles skipper midway through the second half.
Palace, however, are citing four previous examples of similar incidents which did not result in the player in question being sent off, in the hope that Milivojevic’s red card will be rescinded.
Milivojevic is a facing three-match ban for violent conduct if Oliver’s on-field decision is not overturned.
EXAMPLES CITED
1) Aston Villa’s Anwar El Ghazi appearing to aim head-butt at team-mate Tyrone Mings against West Ham on September 16 2019. No caution after VAR consulted.
2) Man City’s Kyle Walker appearing to headbutt Brighton’s Alireza Jahanbakhsh in FA Cup semi-final. Walked booked after VAR consulted.
3) Tottenham’s Moussa Sissoko headbutts Southampton’s Nathan Redmond on March 9 2019. Sissoko and Redmond booked.
4) Spurs’ Harry Kane moves his head towards Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta on February 27 2019. No action taken.
If he receives the full suspension, Milivojevic would miss games against Arsenal, Man City and Southampton.
The incident, however, did see VAR history made at Selhurst Park in a season in which criticism of VAR has not been in short supply.
Oliver’s decision came at a time when calls for referees to refer to pitchside monitors more often that is currently the case have become more vociferous because it would consequently leave the final decision with the man on the field.
It had been mooted that Premier League clubs might recommend referees using pitchside monitors when their chairmen met with referees chief Mike Riley in November.
But the fractious, two-hour meeting saw no change of stance from the PGMOL, who insisted that the protocol will remain that they should be used ‘sparingly’. -Sportsmail
