Leeds defender Gaetano Berardi wins appeal against red card in Millwall defeat

Leeds defender Gaetano Berardi’s dismissal in Saturday’s defeat at Millwall has been overturned, the Sky Bet Championship club have announced.

Berardi was shown a straight red card in the 14th minute at The Den after being adjudged by referee James Linington to have denied Tom Bradshaw a clear goalscoring chance when the striker went down in the penalty area.

Video replays appeared to show little, if any, contact had been made by Berardi on Bradshaw, who was also awarded a penalty, converted by Jed Wallace.

Leeds said in a statement: “An Independent Regulatory Commission has removed Gaetano Berardi’s one-match suspension with immediate effect following a claim of wrongful dismissal.

“The Whites defender was sent off for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity against Millwall in the EFL Championship on October 5, 2019.”

Berardi, who had been recalled to the starting line-up in the absence of injured captain Liam Cooper, will be available for Leeds’ next game, at home against Birmingham on October 19 after the international break.

Millwall went on to win their first league game in eight matches against 10-man Leeds, who went down to their third Championship defeat of the season.

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