FA rejects Chelsea's claim of wrongful dismissal following Thibaut Courtois' red card
The Football Association is siding with referee Michael Oliver.
The FA rejected Chelsea's claim of wrongful dismissal in relation to Thibaut Courtois on Tuesday. That means the Belgian 'keeper's one-match suspension remains with immediate effect and he'll miss his side's trip to Manchester City on Sunday.
Courtois received a straight red card in the 52nd minute of Chelsea's 2-2 draw versus Swansea City on Saturday after he clipped Bafetimbi Gomis on the edge of his penalty box, denying the dreadlocked forward an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.
The sending-off completely altered the outcome of the fixture. Chelsea was leading at the time and Oscar, who'd opened the scoring earlier with a phenomenal free-kick, was forced to exit the pitch as Asmir Begovic replaced Courtois. Gomis then stepped up to the penalty spot and slotted his shot past the untested Begovic.
2-2 , red card, not the start I expected. Sad to let the team down on that moment. They fought really hard till the end to win this game !
— Thibaut Courtois (@thibautcourtois) August 8, 2015
In order for a club's claim of wrongful dismissal to succeed, the club must prove to an Independent Regulatory Commission that the match referee made an obvious error.