appeal

Yes, can appeal straight reds. It is just 2 bookings you cannot appeal.

Owen stated in his after the match interview that he would appeal it as soon as possible.

On the same topic, I haven't seen the replay of the incident but after listening to Owen's and Arry's after the match comments, I bow to the majority and accept that it wasn't a penalty.

I hope this appeases my fellow contributors to yesterdays match thread.

Your right it definitely wasn't a penalty

Bolton will appeal it, and they'll win it too ( yes, Bolton and ' win ' in the same sentence!! ). We still probably would have lost on Saturday, although our goal difference might not have taken such a batterin' if Cahill's card had been yellow .....

The fact it was just inside spurs' half, Zat Knight could've read a newspaper, gone and seen friends, had several cups of coffee and done some shopping and still got back to cover in time suggests we may have grounds for a successful appeal.

You can appeal, but if the appeal fails the Premier League are likely to extend the ban.

I have checked the guidance to refs in the Appendix to the Laws of the Gane on the FIFA website, because I couldn't believe that a player deserves to be sent off for just slightly misjudging a tackle - surely the professional foul rule exists to deal with deliberate cheating? Turns out I am wrong - if a player commits an offence that would result in a free kick or penalty in normal circumstances AND the effect is to deprive the opposition of a clear goal scoring opportunity, he is off. Doesn't have to be a cynical professional foul.

The Ref has to judge whether it is a clear goal scoring opportunity, taking into account a range of factors including:

- whether any other defenders would have been able to cover (the so-called "last man" rule; interestingly this does not decide the issue on its own, it is just one of the factors the Ref must weigh)
- the direction of play
- whether the attacker had control of the ball
- the distance from goal

These are subjective matters and it is possible for two different refs to take a different view of the same incident. But I don't think an appeal will get anywhere if the decision was one that a ref could reasonably have made in the circumstances - you cannot appeal against the merits of the decision if the decision was a legally correct one. But if the Ref misunderstood the rule (for example, if the ref believed that there is an inflexible "last man" rule as many commentators seem to think) or if the decision is simply perverse, so that no referee in his or her right mind could possibly have made such a decision, an appeal might succeed.

As Bricks says, the risk is that the suspension gets extended (up to 6 games I believe is possible) if the club brings an appeal that they know stands no realistic prospect of success.

In this case, I think it is possibly a perverse decision, or the Ref's report might show that he was ignorant of the detailed Laws. I'd give it a 60-40 chance of success and worth the risk.

They will appeal and they will win the appeal. It may be the last thing we win before the start of next season, but it's a given