Leeds United needed to tell The Football Association it was appealing Gaetano Berardi’s red card before 1pm on Monday.
Assuming the club did follow through on its intention to appeal, they then had until 1pm on Tuesday to submit any evidence to support the wrongful dismissal claim.
There is no strict time frame in place for when The FA must either make its decision or publish said decision.
The crux of the matter is proving the red card was an ‘obvious error’ to the authorities.
This is the step-by-step process the club and The FA will follow over the coming days.
- The club must notify The FA of its intention to lodge a wrongful dismissal claim by 1pm on the first working day following the game;
- The club must submit any evidence to support the wrongful dismissal claim by 1pm on the second working day following the game;
- A regulatory commission will hear the case and the onus is on the club to demonstrate, via written and/or video evidence only, the match referee made an “obvious error” in dismissing the player;
- The regulatory commission will decide whether the club’s wrongful dismissal claim will be rejected, meaning the player’s suspension remains, or is upheld, meaning the player’s suspension is withdrawn with immediate effect;
- If the regulatory commission’s decision is to reject the club’s claim it will then, in every case, go on to consider whether or not the player’s punishment should be increased;
- If the regulatory commission considers the rejected claim “had no prospect of success” and/or “amounts to an abuse of process”, it has the discretion to increase the punishment up to twice the standard amount with immediate effect.
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