Llansana red card against Utrecht rescinded

Go Ahead Eagles midfielder Enric Llansana has been acquitted of his much-discussed red card against FC Utrecht, report ESPN NL. The Deventer club successfully appealed the red card, with the disciplinary committee siding with the Spanish-born former Dutch youth international’s case.

Llansana can therefore play on Wednesday, when Go Ahead Eagles face Sparta Rotterdam in the cup.

Llansana saw red after nine minutes for a foul on Paxten Aaronson. According to the accused, it was far too harsh a decision by referee Sander van der Eijk as he wasn’t even the last man.

“I touch the ball first and then it hits me. (…) The ball is also quite far away from him, so I don’t think he ever has it under control. Joris Kramer is also behind me, so it’s never a red card. I think it’s a yellow card at most and maybe not even that.”

Based on the TV images, the disciplinary committee did not consider it likely enough that the FC Utrecht player would have been able to keep the ball in his possession before Llansana intervened. As a result, the committee didn’t believe it could be determined with sufficient certainty that a clear scoring opportunity was denied.

GBeNeFN | Max Bradfield