New Delhi: The Boxing day fixture between Newcastle United and Aston Villa was one without a lot of positives for the Midlands club. Newcastle United took an early lead with Anthony Gordon putting the Toons ahead in just the second minute which set the tone for the rest of the game. Newcastle went on to win the game 3-0, continuting Aston Villa’s inconsistent run of form off late.
However, the Toons were helped by the Villans being reduced to 10 men early in the game. Villa’s star forward, Jhon Duran was sent off following a controversial red card in the game for a foul on Swiss defender Fabian Schär. While the foul in itself wasn’t worthy of a sending off, he was sent off for seemingly stamping on the defender in the process. However, fans and pundits claimed that the stamping was inevitable due to the striker falling down as well.
Aston Villa can confirm that our decision to appeal Jhon Durán’s red card in our match with Newcastle United has been rejected. The player will now miss our next three matches.
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) December 27, 2024
For the same season, Aston Villa had appealed for the ban to be revoked. Replays showed that the striker appeared to lose his footing, rolling his left ankle before his right boot landed on Schär’s back. Aston Villa manager Unai Emery had criticized the sending off stating that the referee should’ve taken more time before taking the decision. He said, “In this case you have to use the VAR. He has to be smart, and calm. It has to be like that.”
However, the English FA has decided to dismiss the club’s appeal for the red card, which has in turn shocked and disappointed Villa. Jhon Duran will now miss the club’s next three games due to the sending off, which is a huge blow to the side considering the kind of form the 21-year-old has been in this season. He had just been starting to establish himself in the starting XI, after starting the season as a ‘super-sub’ for the club.
Jhon Duran’s blistering form this season
Jhon Durán this season:
12 goals
6 starts pic.twitter.com/cfMO3HbFHY
— StatMuse FC (@statmusefc) December 21, 2024
The Columbian striker had been subject to a lot of interest from various Premier League clubs with both Chelsea and West Ham circling around the youngster. However, Villa remained firm in their asking price which weaned off the interest from other clubs and Villa could keep hold of their star striker. Duran has since gone on to repay the faith the club had shown in him in the summer by scoring crucial goals for them this season.
He has already scored 12 goals for the club this year, including seven in the Premier League and three in the UEFA Champions League. He has the best minutes to goals ration amongst players to have scored more than five this year. However, he will now have to wait to add to that tally as he’s set to miss Aston Villa’s league games against Brighton and Hove Albion and Leicester City and will also miss their FA Cup clash against West Ham.
Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran was sent off against Newcastle United during their Boxing Day clash for seemingly stamping on Newcastle United defender Fabian Schär. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
