West Ham’s Fabian Balbuena wins appeal against Chelsea red card

West Ham defender Fabian Balbuena has had his three-match suspension overturned following a successful claim for wrongful dismissal.

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

The 29-year-old will now be free to play on Monday when the Hammers travel to Burnley in the Premier League, in addition to subsequent games against Everton and Brighton.

An FA statement read: “An independent regulatory commission has removed Fabian Balbuena’s three-match suspension following a successful claim of wrongful dismissal.”

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

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

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