Arsenal teenager Max Dowman will serve a three-match suspension after the Football Association rejected the club's appeal against his red card in the Carabao Cup defeat at Fleetwood Town. The FA panel could not agree on overturning the decision, with two of its three members backing the referee's call.
Incident and Appeal
Dowman was sent off during Arsenal's shock loss to Fleetwood Town after retaliating to a strong challenge from Harrison Neal in the final minutes of the game. He kicked out and was shown a red card by referee Michael Salisbury. Arsenal attempted to appeal the decision, arguing for both wrongful dismissal and a "clearly excessive" punishment, but both arguments were rejected.
The FA's written reasons for the decision revealed that two of the three panel members supported the referee, stating that Dowman "clearly attempts to forcefully kick out."
Panel's Reasoning
The report added: "Max Dowman had the option to step out of this challenge without any reaction but he turned back towards Neal and his forceful attempt at a retaliatory kick gave the referee a decision to make. The majority view was that the attempted retaliation fell into the category of Violent Conduct and the decision was not obviously wrong."
The panel comprised head and former Fulham midfielder Udo Onwere, ex-Blackburn and England winger Stuart Ripley, and one-time referee Ray Olivier. The individual who sided with Dowman said: "The referee had made an obvious error in sending off Max Dowman for interpreting a challenge that, whilst still unacceptable, was better characterised as adopting an aggressive attitude. To the mind of the minority there was no clear action that could be said to be one of excessive force or brutality and therefore no violent conduct."
Suspension Upheld
Despite the disagreement, the panel agreed that the standard three-game ban was justifiable. The report added: "The Commission members were unanimous as to whether the claim for clearly excessive ought to succeed. The Commission did not consider Dowman's age being a relevant factor in their deliberations. Taking everything into consideration did not see any factors that would make this incident 'truly exceptional' to the extent that the standard punishment ought to be disapplied."
The incident was one of the first major flashpoints in Dowman's career and prompted an angry reaction from Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, who attempted to explain his response in the days after the game.
