Younes Kaboul's Red-Card Ban Rescinded After Appeal
Younes Kaboul's red card against Chelsea on Saturday has been rescinded following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing, according to the Football Association.
The sending off occurred in the 59th minute of the Blues' 4-0 win over Tim Sherwood's side, with Eden Hazard scoring from the penalty that came as a result of Kaboul's foul.
There was the notion that Samuel Eto'o had exaggerated the impact of Kaboul's challenge in order to "buy" a penalty, which Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho reacted to, per The Guardian's David Hytner: "You know the kings of the penalties … you know where they are and they're not here."
However, as The Mirror's Martin Lipton attests, just because the red card has been rescinded does not mean Eto'o still wasn't deserving of a penalty:
The outing was just Kaboul's fourth Premier League game of the season, injury having disrupted his involvement in the squad over recent months.
Had the red card have stood, the Frenchman would have served a one-match ban. However, he is now available for this Sunday's North London derby fixture against Arsenal.
Spurs have kept just one clean sheet in their last five matches across all competitions and are in need of as much defensive backup as they can find.
With Vlad Chiriches and Michael Dawson currently struggling with injury, Kaboul's return is a major boost for Sherwood's side, who play host to Benfica in the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 tie on Thursday.
Jan Vertonghen has been among the club's more consistent defensive staples this term, but the Belgian is in need of a staple partner in central defence.
Kaboul can at least hope to remain that component of the squad for the next week's worth of fixtures thanks to this most recent decision of wrongful dismissal.
