West Ham to appeal against controversial Fabian Balbuena red card

His manager was disgusted by the sending off decision

Andy Sims
Monday 26 April 2021 13:23 BST
Comments
(Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

West Ham are to appeal the controversial red card shown to defender Fabian Balbuena against Chelsea on Saturday, the PA news agency understands.

Balbuena was sent off by referee Chris Kavanagh after he caught Blues full-back Ben Chilwell with his studs as he cleared the ball upfield.

Kavanagh did not initially blow for a foul but the incident was brought to his attention by VAR.

The official reviewed the footage on the pitchside monitor and then decided to show a straight red card to the Paraguayan centre-back.

Hammers manager David Moyes called the decision “rank, rotten” after his side’s 1-0 defeat by their top-four rivals.

West Ham lost the game 1-0, with Balbuena missing the final 10 minutes after being dismissed. The result left the Hammers fifth in the table, three points behind the Blues in the race for a Champions League spot.

They face Burnley on Monday 3 May.

Balbuena has played 14 times in the league for West Ham this season, having won back a place in the team of late.

Additional reporting by PA

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in