Evanilson’s red card against Manchester United has been rescinded, with the Bournemouth striker now available to face Arsenal this weekend.
AFC Bournemouth have confirmed that Evanilson’s red card against Manchester United has been overturned on appeal, removing the player’s three-match ban and allowing him to immediately return to action against Arsenal this weekend.
Whilst a lot of focus is now on Arsenal’s Champions League semi-final second leg against PSG, the Gunners first have a Premier League fixture against Bournemouth coming up on Saturday.
Though the title has gone to Liverpool, Arsenal still have a top-five spot to play for, with only a seven-point lead on sixth with four games remaining.
So it initially appeared to be a boost to Arsenal’s hopes of a weekend win over Bournemouth when Evanilson received a straight red card against Manchester United at the weekend. The red would have seen him banned against Arsenal, Aston Villa, and Manchester City.
Yet Bournemouth successfully argued that the accidental nature of Evanilson’s challenge mitigated the severity of it.
The striker had gone in for a tackle on Noussair Mazraoui, but his studs slipped in the turf and he ended up flying into a scissor challenge and failing to get his foot on the ball. The clear slip appears to have convinced the appeals panel that a red card was too harsh.
Bournemouth signed Evanilson last summer, and he’s gone on to score 11 goals in 30 games for the team. That makes him joint-second in the club’s goal rankings this season, despite spending some time sidelined with a broken foot.
Evanilson also won a penalty against Arsenal in October, so his involvement could be impactful on Saturday.