Sunderland have lodged an appeal against Dan Ballard’s red card for violent conduct at Molineux. According to Sunderland Echo, the club maintain the incident was unintentional.
The Black Cats were leading 1-0 when VAR advised referee Paul Tierney to check the pitchside monitor. He ruled Ballard had clearly pulled the hair of Wolves striker Tolu Arokodare and dismissed the defender.
As it stands, Ballard faces a three-game suspension that would end his Premier League campaign. After the match, head coach Régis Le Bris said the club would look at an appeal and felt such a punishment was harsh.
Le Bris added that he did not think Ballard acted intentionally and that applying the rule in aerial duels is difficult, describing the decision as hard to digest.
The FA will now review the case, with an independent panel to uphold or overturn the red card, reduce the sanction, or extend it if they deem the appeal frivolous. Similar hair-pulling appeals by Michael Keane and Lisandro Martínez have failed this season, and a ruling is expected before Saturday’s visit of Manchester United to the Stadium of Light.