Yellow peril must stay, claims refs' chief

Referees’ chief Phillip Don this morning backed the Football Association’s ruling not to allow clubs leave of appeal when a player is dismissed for two bookable offences.

Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira was sent off during the London derby with Chelsea on Sunday and despite the Gunners’ calls for a review of the dismissal, the FA confirmed yesterday his suspension will stand.

Had the Frenchman been shown a straight red card, Arsenal could have taken their appeal to the FA, as Manchester City did successfully for Shaun Wright-Phillips yesterday.

Arsenal claimed after the draw at Stamford Bridge that Vieira’s dismissal was “harsh”, but their hands were tied because the FA would not field an appeal against two yellow cards, even though the offence holds a one-match ban.

The club added: “Having reviewed both ’yellow card’ offences, we are convinced that Patrik Vieira should have remained on the field of play.

“We are mindful that referees have a difficult job, making decisions in a split second but in this instance the referee has made a mistake and it is frustrating that the decision hasn’t been reversed.”

However, Don does not believe the FA can go down the route of allowing clubs to question every yellow card handed out during a game.

“Where does it end? Are you appealing the first yellow card or the second yellow card that got the player off?” he said.

“It’s just not practical to appeal every card issued by the referee.”

Following every sending-off in the opening weeks of the season, Premiership managers’ first reaction has been to state their intent to appeal.

Alex Ferguson decided against it after reviewing pictures of Roy Keane’s dismissal at the weekend, but Charlton, Birmingham and Manchester City have all taken their appeals to the FA, with varying degrees of success.

Charlton’s Paul Konchesky had his ban upheld after he was dismissed for an elbow on the opening day of the season, while Birmingham’s Aliou Cisse and Wright-Phillips had their red cards rescinded following a review by the referees concerned.

Don feels a change in FA policy has resulted in the increased numbers of appeals.

He told Radio Five Live: “I think what’s happened over the last few years, especially with television, is that people have sought to appeal and question more referee’s decisions.

“The FA have changed their policy recently. As of last season you could only appeal red cards for violent conduct and foul play, now you can appeal any red card.

“There are no new directives at all and I think if you compare the number of dismissals this season to last I think it would be lower.”