Pascal Struijk cleared to face Crystal Palace after red card overturned

Pascal Struijk will not serve the one-match suspension that followed his dismissal against Sunderland: an independent Regulatory Commission has overturned the red card and made him available for Brighton & Hove Albion’s meeting with Crystal Palace on Sunday, 18 October.

Brighton said Struijk was sent off in the Premier League match against Sunderland on 10 October for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity. The club challenged the decision as a wrongful dismissal, and the commission upheld its claim. The red card has been rescinded and the associated suspension removed.

That means Struijk is eligible for the Palace match at home rather than having to sit it out. The ruling restores another defensive option for Brighton, who are third with 13 points from six games. Palace are 12th on seven points, six places below them in the table.

The decision changes the immediate consequence of the Sunderland dismissal: Struijk can be selected for the next league fixture rather than serving a ban. It does not change the result of the commission’s review, which was that the dismissal was wrongful. The BBC also reported that the red card against Sunderland was shown after a VAR intervention.

Brighton now go into Sunday’s meeting with Struijk available for selection. Against a Palace side six places behind them, his clearance gives the club the option of including him in the squad; it does not guarantee he will start.