Journalist shares outcome as West Brom appeal Matheus Pereira decision v Palace
West Brom have not been successful with their appeal of Matheus Pereira’s red card against Crystal Palace on Sunday, according to Joseph Masi.
The Express and Star journalist claimed that the panel could have rescinded the card, or toned down the ban, but refused to do either.
Pereira was given his marching orders in the 5-1 defeat after appearing to kick out at Patrick van Aanholt.
Masi reported the news on his personal Twitter account on Tuesday afternoon, with Pereira now set to miss three important games in the Premier League.
“Matheus Pereira update,” he wrote. “I understand Albion did appeal his red card against Palace but that appeal has not been successful.
“Pereira will now be banned for the Newcastle, Man City & Villa games. The panel could have rescinded the red or reduced the ban to one game but didn’t.”
Pereira will now miss the games with Newcastle, Manchester City and the important derby with Aston Villa over the Christmas period.
This leaves Slaven Bilic with a major problem, with creativity not exactly something that his side is blessed with at the Hawthorns.
Pereira has averaged 2.3 key passes per game according to WhoScored, and that is more than double the number of anyone else in the squad.
The Baggies have only scored eight goals this season, with Sheffield United and Burnley the only two with fewer goals – something which isn’t set to improve without Pereira.
It was a moment of madness from the Brazilian, but was it enough to warrant a red card? We think it was soft, but this panel clearly think differently – not the first time a decision has gone against us this season.
In other West Brom news, these Baggies fans react to reports on future of Slaven Bilic
Be sure to follow West Brom News on Facebook and Twitter for 24/7 updates on the Baggies and more exclusive interviews with Kevin Phillips.