Saints defender Vestergaard wins appeal against Leicester red

Southampton defender Jannik Vestergaard has had his red card against Leicester City overturned by an independent commission.

The centre-back, 28, was sent off by referee Robert Jones ten minutes into Friday’s 1-1 draw at St Mary’s.

He was dismissed for denying Jamie Vardy a goal-scoring opportunity, but his one-game ban has now been quashed.


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Vestergaard received the ball near the edge of his box and slipped, allowing Vardy to steal it away from him.

As the Englishman tried to race towards goal, Vestergaard brought him down with an ill-timed challenge.

It was initially unclear whether the red was for denying a goal-scoring opportunity or for dangerous play, although it was eventually revealed to be the former.

The ruling means Vestergaard will be available for Southampton’s game against on Liverpool on Saturday evening.

Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl will have been pleased with how his side picked up a point at home despite going down to 10 men.

They made it through to the break without conceding and took a surprise lead in the second half.

Stuart Armstrong sent a shot goalwards which hit Kelechi Iheanacho on the arm, forcing Jones to point to the spot.

James Ward-Prowse then calmly slotted home his eighth goal of the campaign.

But the Saints couldn’t hold onto all three points as Leicester equalised in the 68th minute through Jonny Evans.

A perfectly placed Iheanacho cross found the head of Evans, with the defender able to beat Alex McCarthy from close range.

The draw put Southampton on 37 points for the season after 33 games and in 15th place.

They need just one more win to pretty much secure their Premier League status for next season.

Leicester, meanwhile, dropped two points in their top-four hunt.

They still have a two-point lead on fourth-placed Chelsea.

This isn’t the first time Southampton have had a red rescinded this season. Jan Bednarek was dismissed in the 9-0 thrashing at the hands of Manchester United for bringing down Anthony Martial in the box.

He appeared to get out of the way, however, and the card given by Mike Dean was later overruled on appeal.

The post Saints defender Vestergaard wins appeal against Leicester red appeared first on Football365.

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