Aston Villa manager Unai Emery was understandably dejected at the prospect of losing Jhon Duran to suspension after the striker was sacked at Newcastle on December 26.
Colombia international Duran had scored goals in his four previous games and established himself as a starter before suffering one of his worst moments of the season.
Referee Anthony Taylor sent off Duran after an incident with home defender Fabian Schar after 32 minutes of the Premier League game, but Emery, Villa fans and many other fans and pundits were stunned by the decision.
Here’s what you need to know about Duran’s suspension, including which games he’ll miss and why his sentence was upheld.
BREAKING: Aston Villa’s appeal to overturn Jhon Duran’s red card has been rejected by the FA 🚨 pic.twitter.com/UaDWdE4hBQ
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) December 27, 2024
Suspension for Jhon Duran
Villa will be without Duran for a total of three games, starting with the visit of Brighton & Hove Albion on Monday (7.45pm GMT).
He will also be absent from the home game against Leicester City the following Saturday (3pm) and the FA Cup third round match against West Ham at Villa Park on January 10 (8pm).
Duran has featured in all of Villa’s 26 games in all competitions this season and initially proved to be a highly effective substitute, scoring goals from the bench in the first four of his five Premier League games.
More recently, Duran took his tally to 12 in the season, partnering and replacing Ollie Watkins, giving the England international a break.
Was John Duran unlucky? 🟥 #BBCFootball #MOTD pic.twitter.com/gbfHqITTna
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) December 27, 2024
Red card for Duran: why did the Premier League reject the appeal?
As Emery’s comments clearly suggested, Villa appealed Duran’s red card in the hope of overturning the decision.
“His reaction afterwards, when the player (Schar) was standing over him, was ‘sorry, sorry’,” the Spaniard said. “He didn’t kick him intentionally… this is a very severe punishment for this act.
“I can accept that the other team might ask for a red card, okay. But VAR (should have intervened) and confirmed it (was not intended) because the penalty is now three games.”
Unfortunately for Emery, the Premier League subsequently found that Duran was guilty of violent behavior and enforced the ban.
Aston Villa fixtures
Emery could take some comfort from all of Villa’s games when Duran is away and looks like he could be victorious.
Brighton are winless in six games and capitulated 6-1 at Villa last season, while Leicester have won just once away from home in 2024/25 and West Ham lost 4-1 on their last visit to Villa Park.
