West Ham wins appeal of Cheikhou Kouyate's FA Cup dismissal

West Ham midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate has been spared a one-match ban for a straight red card brandished by referee Jonathan Moss in the 75th minute of the Irons' 5-1 drubbing of Blackburn on Sunday.

"Cheikhou Kouyate's one-match suspension for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity has been withdrawn with immediate effect following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing today (Tuesday 23 February 2016)," a statement on the English FA's website announced.

The angular Senegalese international was sent off 15 minutes from time during Sunday's fifth-round FA Cup tilt at Ewood Park for a foul on Adam Henley, with the red card resulting in an automatic one-match ban.

With that ban now overturned, the 26-year-old can now play Saturday when West Ham host Sunderland at Upton Park in Premier League action, with Slaven Bilic's lot looking to vault past both Manchester United and Southampton with a victory.