Brighton defender Pascal Struijk cleared to face Crystal Palace after red card overturned

Brighton defender Pascal Struijk will be available for Sunday’s Premier League derby against Crystal Palace after the Football Association overturned his controversial dismissal against Sunderland.

Struijk was shown a straight red card in the 57th minute of Brighton’s 2-0 win at the Stadium of Light on Saturday. Referee Thomas Bramall initially allowed play to continue after the defender’s challenge on Sunderland forward Wilson Isidor, who was chasing a through-ball.

However, VAR official Neil Davies intervened and recommended an on-field review. After looking at the footage, Bramall decided Struijk had denied Isidor an obvious goalscoring opportunity and sent him off.

Brighton’s players reacted with disbelief to the decision, but the club’s appeal against the dismissal has now been upheld on the grounds of wrongful dismissal. As a result, Struijk will not serve the automatic one-match suspension that would normally have followed his red card.

The 26-year-old is therefore eligible to play in Sunday’s match against Crystal Palace, which begins at 2pm.

“An independent Regulatory Commission has upheld a claim of wrongful dismissal in relation to Pascal Struijk and moved his one-match suspension,” an FA 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.”

Struijk joined Brighton from Leeds United in a 20 million pound transfer before the beginning of the season and had been making his second Premier League start for the club when he was dismissed.

Brighton were forced to play with 10 men for the remainder of the match but held on to secure a 2-0 victory. The result maintained their strong start to the campaign and left them third in the table, five points behind leaders Manchester City.

They will now face Crystal Palace with Struijk available for selection after the successful appeal.