NEWS: QUEENS PARK Rangers have lodged an appeal over the red card received by Joey Barton in the fractious 2-1 Premier League defeat to Norwich City at Loftus Road on Monday.
The midfielder was sent off when he was adjudged to have butted Norwich’s Bradley Johnson by the referee Neil Swarbrick, who took advice from his assistant, David Richardson.
A decision on the appeal is expected by the end of the week, so if the card is rescinded Barton can play in the FA Cup tie at MK Dons on Saturday.
If, however, QPR are unsuccessful the statutory three-match ban for a straight sending-off is unlikely to be increased due to the appeal.
While the FA decided Barton and his manager, Neil Warnock, have no case to answer for their post-match views of the incident, the governing body will also be asking QPR to clarify comments made by the director Ruben Emir Gnanalingam, who in a tweet reportedly described Swarbrick as “biased and blind”.
The Malaysian businessman deleted the tweet within minutes.
A fresh Twitter message has since appeared from Gnanalingam, who joined the board in August following Tony Fernandes’ takeover at Loftus Road, saying simply: “EPL should consider video evidence for red cards. The 4th official is there and can communicate with ref immediately.”
Warnock said of the incident: “Who says cheats don’t prosper? Bradley has conned him. Bradley Johnson has not been head-butted at all.”
On Twitter Barton said: “Ridiculous decision seen 25 replays. Well feel for the officials, they’ve been conned. Admitted to me at HT they never saw it. I was pulled back 1st, then kicked 2nd! Make your own minds up when u see it”.
Barton again tweeted yesterday about the matter, suggesting that one day a club may sue a referee if a decision has a material effect on their season.
Guardian service
