West Ham United have just announced that the red card defender Fabian Balbuena received in the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea has now been overturned following an appeal.
Balbuena was extremely unfortunate to be shown a straight red card in the 79th minute of the encounter after his boot unintentionally planted into Ben Chilwell’s leg after a clearance.
Referee Chris Kavanagh reviewed the incident on the pitchside VAR monitor and deemed that Balbuena had committed serious foul play, in a shocking decision that shattered the Hammers’ hopes of a result.
It was a very closely-matched encounter between the London sides when the overshadowing moment occurred with over 10 minutes of regulation left to play.
The centre-back being unfairly handed his marching orders left it impossible for the Hammers to come back into the tie, in a moment that may well prevent them from qualifying for the Champions League.
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We can confirm that Fabian Balbuena’s red card in Saturday’s Premier League fixture against Chelsea has been overturned on appeal. The defender will now be eligible for our trip to Burnley.
— West Ham United (@WestHam) April 27, 2021
One pundit ripped into the reckless and ’embarrassing’ decision with this reaction, whilst some fans were truly shocked to see a red card shown for the action.
To make the moment even more bitter for Balbuena, it came in his first Premier League start of the year, in a chance for the Paraguayan to prove he deserves a starting spot over the returning Craig Dawson.
Chelsea snatched the Hammers’ fourth-placed spot with the win, with this decision leading to an unfavourable result which may well be impossible to come back from in an otherwise stellar season.