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As you probably remember, Leicester City frontman Jamie Vardy was given a straight red card for a two-footed sliding tackle against Stoke City. While I did, and still do, blame the player for leaving the ground and giving the referee a decision to make, it would be fair to say the reaction to the sending off was mixed at best.
Garth Crooks has just realised that he's left the oven on... https://t.co/doRo0mIAMn
— BenchWarmers (@BeWarmers) December 17, 2016
Even mild mannered Claudio Ranieri was angry with the decision.
Vardy and the club immediately chose to appeal the card and the three match suspension, claiming that he’d been knocked off balance during the challenge. The consensus did seem hopeful of at least a reduced ban.
That’s not the case however, as the FA have today announced that the appeal was rejected. I think I know how we all feel about that, so let’s go for some unbiased opinion:
Shambles....
— Rebekah Vardy (@RebekahVardy) December 20, 2016
Not surprised Vardy lost his appeal. Refs have been poor lately and the @FA will try to protect them. Wrong decision though. #LCFC
— Rob Tanner (@RobTannerMerc) December 20, 2016
Is there any point to the @FA appeals committee? Even when the referee is blatantly wrong they uphold the decision. Utterly pointless #Vardy
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) December 20, 2016
Alright well these sources might have hints of bias.
Who cares, I think we’re allowed to be annoyed at this one. Vardy has already missed an hour of play for a tackle he probably shouldn’t have, and will now miss our games against Everton, West Ham and Middlesbrough.
If, for some reason, you’re looking for salt in your wound, go watch Ross Barkley’s tackle on Jordan Henderson last night. It’s a much uglier tackle, but he was given a yellow card at the time so there’s no chance of a retrospective ban. He’ll be lining up for Everton against a Vardy-less Leicester on Boxing Day.
On the bright side, Vardy will now have Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve off, so his Party is very much back on.