John Terry Successful in Red Card Appeal

Remarkably, John Terry has been successful in his appeal to have his red card against Manchester City at the weekend overturned.

Terry was given his marching orders for a cynical tackle on Manchester City's Brazilian front-man Jo. He appeared to haul down the striker with his hands after he had side-stepped Terry's first attempt to foul him.

It was a tackle that would have greeted huge applause at Twickenham, and now perhaps a dangerous precedent has been set. Rugby tackles are allowed in football—well, if you play for Chelsea that is.

The whole saga has yet again made the FA look somewhat foolish. Terry was dismissed for serious foul play, which takes no account of the position of covering defenders, or where the offence takes place in relation to the goal, unlike the professional foul rule.

As Terry was given a straight red card, Chelsea would have had to prove that Terry didn't even deserve a yellow card in order to win a reprieve. This is because the FA don't have the power to downgrade red cards to yellows.

Wait a minute—in what way was Terry's foul not deserving of a yellow card? This decision is as worrying as it is baffling.

Are they seriously suggesting that what Terry did, whilst not being legal, was just an ordinary foul? An honest attempt to win the ball?

This is an absolute disgrace. Middlesbrough fans will be incensed when they think back to Jeremie Aliadiere's ban for a red card at Anfield. His ban was increased when he appealed because of its "frivolous nature." Well, it seems to me, that this ban was equally frivolous!

I think Manchester United fans will also be equally annoyed. Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes were made to serve bans for red cards in a preseason tournament, despite being initially told that the red cards, as per previous precedents, wouldn't require bans as it was only a friendly.

The inconsistency is infuriating, and a lot of football fans will be very disappointed with this news!

No doubt the Chelsea fans will be delighted. They couldn't see what their Skipper had done wrong in the first place. Far be it from them to actually admit that Terry deserved his ban.

Reactions to this news, as always, are welcome in the comment boxes below. How have you reacted to this news?