Brighton boosted as Pascal Struijk red card overturned ahead of Palace clash

The 26-year-old was dismissed in the 57th minute of Saturday's 2-0 victory at the Stadium of Light for denying Wilson Isidor an obvious goalscoring opportunity. However, Brighton successfully appealed the decision on the grounds of wrongful dismissal, sparing Struijk an automatic one-match suspension.

Referee Thomas Bramall and his assistant initially allowed play to continue after the incident, but VAR official Neil Davies intervened and recommended an on-field review. After watching the footage, Bramall opted to show Struijk a straight red card for his challenge on Isidor as the Sunderland forward chased a through-ball.

The decision prompted disbelief among Brighton's players, but the appeal has now cleared the defender to feature in Sunday's derby against Palace, which kicks off at 2pm.

Struijk joined the Seagulls from Leeds United in a 20 million pound move prior to the beginning of the season and was making his second Premier League start for the club.

Despite playing with 10 men following his dismissal, Brighton held on to secure a 2-0 win and maintain their strong start to the campaign. They sit third in the table, five points behind leaders Manchester City.

"An independent Regulatory Commission has upheld a claim of wrongful dismissal in relation to Pascal Struijk and moved his one-match suspension," a statement said.

"The Brighton & Hove Albion defender was sent off during the Premier League fixture against Sunderland on Saturday 10 October for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity."

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