Newcastle United will be without defender Fabian Schar for the next three matches, after his ban was upheld after an unsuccessful appeal.
The Switzerland international was dismissed by referee Mike Dean against Arsenal after coming on as a substitute in the second-half for a challenge from behind on Gabriel Martinelli.
The decision means Schar will be unavailable against Leicester City, Manchester City and Sheffield United.
The challenge was questioned after the game by Steve Bruce, who said: “The way it is at the moment and the rules are… there’s no tackles anymore.
“I don’t think it deserves a red. Maybe it’s a yellow.
“Is it dangerous? Not really.”
Assessing the incident for Ref Watch for Sky Sports, former official Dermot Gallagher also insisted Schar was unfortunate to be sent off and that he caught Martinelli on the boot rather than the Achilles.
Hopefully the decision will not prove costly.
Newcastle have managed fairly well in Schar’s absence through injury, so Bruce will hope for more of the same.
On social media, fans were not happy about the decision:
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