Referee rescinds Shearer red card
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Louise Thomas
Editor
Alan Shearer, the Newcastle United captain, has had his red card at Charlton Athletic on Saturday overturned. The referee Andy D'Urso and his assistant Graham Beale – the man who drew the senior official's attention to the incident which led to Shearer's dismissal – viewed the video evidence yesterday morning and rescinded the decision.
The announcement came only hours after Newcastle confirmed that they were to appeal against what was only the second sending-off of the former England captain's career. The news came as a complete vindication of Shearer, who was astonished to receive his marching orders for allegedly elbowing the Charlton defender Jon Fortune.
D'Urso went to his pocket after consulting Beale, who had raised his flag as the defender went to ground, but television replays showed that any contact had been accidental. The Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd said: "This is great news, but something we fully expected. We are all very pleased, but particularly for Alan, who suffered the injustice in the first place."
Shearer's only other red card came on 7 August 1999 when he was dismissed by Uriah Rennie for persistent foul play in a 1-0 home defeat to Aston Villa.
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