I must admit to being very surprised to hear that Arsenal have had the appeal against the sending off of Gabriel upheld by the FA. We never get any help from the footballing powers that be, so they must realise what a terrible job Mike Dean did for us at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The Brazil international defender was looking at being banned for the next three domestic games and so this is great news for the Gunners, with a heavy fixture list for us to cope with. However, the news of this decision reported by Sky Sports, is tempered by the fact that Gabriel still has to answer a charge of improper conduct about how he reacted after being sent off.
The FA statement on the matter said, “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“The player’s three-match suspension has, therefore, been withdrawn with immediate effect.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.”
It is still pretty galling to think that Mike Dean ruined this game for us and gave Chelsea a huge helping hand to get back on track in the league, but you would also hope that they are not going to get much from the officials for a while and Jose Mourinho will be having a right old hissy fit when he hears that Gabriel has been let off, especially if they go on to ban Costa for his violent conduct charge.
And our centre back will still probably get a ban for his reaction and of course that would not have happened had the ref done his job properly in the first place, but if he does get a ban it might be for just one game.
Great news!