Wrongful red card upheld
The A-League refereeing boss believes the challenge wasn’t worth a red card but Wellington Phoenix defender Ryan Lowry must still serve a ban following his dismissal against Perth Glory at the weekend.
The footballer was dismissed shortly after coming on as a second-half substitute in Sunday’s A-League clash when referee Adam Kersey was referred by the VAR to view footage of a challenge on Glory winger Chris Ikonomidis.
Late Monday night, the league’s match review panel dismissed an application by the Phoenix to have the red card rescinded for an ‘‘obvious error’’ and announced Lowry will miss this weekend’s clash with Sydney FC.
That ruling came despite Football Federation of Australia director of referees Ben Wilson conceding Lowry shouldn’t have been sent off.
"Having seen a replay of the tackle, the referee decided that the tackle constituted serious foul play and sent Lowry from the field of play,’’ Wilson said.
‘‘In the Referees Department’s weekly post-round review, it was determined that the correct outcome should have been a yellow card for a reckless tackle.’’
Wilson said Lowry’s ban was upheld because a red card can only be overturned if all three panel members agree it wasn’t warranted.
The decision to dismiss Lowry left Phoenix coach Mark Rudan fuming and accusing the A-League of treating the New Zealand-based club differently.
Phoenix chief executive David Dome said he’d had a discussion with A-League boss Greg O’Rourke earlier on Monday in which O’Rourke had indicated the use of VAR in that situation was a mistake.
The MRP has also imposed a one-match ban on Brisbane Roar midfielder Stefan Mauk.
The attacking midfielder was shown a red card for a stoppage time challenge on Adelaide’s Craig Goodwin during the Reds’ 2-1 win over the Roar on Friday night.
Mauk was knocked unconscious making the challenge, with Roar players and coach John Aloisi furious with Adelaide players lifting the prone player from the ground.
Roar managing director David Pourre said the club accepted Mauk will miss Sunday’s away trip to Newcastle.