Arsenal win appeal against Gabriel’s red card

By Joe Prince-Wright

Arsenal’s central defender Gabriel has had his three-match suspension rescinded after he was sent off following an incident with Diego Costa during Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Arsenal on Saturday.

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The North London club appealed to the Independent Regulatory Commission following Gabriel’s dismissal and it was announced on Tuesday that they have been successful.

Gabriel was shown a straight-red card by referee Mike Dean for kicking out at Costa (see the full incident in the video above) just moments after both players had been shown yellows for their part in a pushing match inside the Arsenal box.

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All of that came after Costa had twice caught Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny in the face with his flailing arms, but neither Dean nor his officiating crew spotted the altercation at the time.

However on Monday the FA charged Costa with violent conduct after reviewing TV footage of the incident and he faces a possible three-match retrospective ban for his actions. English soccer’s governing body also charged Gabriel with improper conduct for failing to leave the field of play after his dismissal, plus both Chelsea and Arsenal for failing to control their players.

In a statement on the FA’s website Gabriel was cleared of the more serious charge against him, but still has to respond to the charge of improper conduct.

Arsenal’s claim of wrongful dismissal in relation to Gabriel has been upheld following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing.

The player’s three-match suspension has, therefore, been withdrawn with immediate effect.

Gabriel was dismissed for violent conduct during the game against Chelsea on Saturday [19 September 2015].

The player is currently subject to a separate FA charge of improper conduct in relation to Saturday’s game and has until 6pm on Thursday [24 September 2015] to reply.