Can Leeds United appeal Joe Rodon red card at Hull City after 'not even a foul' claim? FA law explained

In the German’s eyes Rodon’s first half caution was ‘not even a foul’ and therefore he deemed the second half sending off of his centre-back harsh in the extreme. Rodon lunged into a challenge near halfway without getting the ball to receive his second yellow card and subsequent red. Leeds went on to draw the game 0-0 having been in the ascendancy for most of the first half and created good chances to go ahead prior to the red card.

Farke said: “Yes he is [unlucky to be sent off]. Let's be honest. If you judge a game, that he's not allowed to finish feels harsh. When I judge how many technical fouls there were against Cree, it feels harsh. First half was never a yellow, it was not even a foul, no one can explain to me how it was a yellow. You have to deal a bit smarter with the situation, the duel in the second half. That's where we have to be a bit more self critical, it changed the momentum of the game.”

Hull boss Liam Rosenior said there were suggestions from his side that Rodon’s second yellow could have been a straight red.

“I haven't seen the challenge back, I've been told it's a clear yellow and it could have been a red in itself,” he said.

"I'm not saying it was because I haven't seen it back but if you've been booked already you can't make a challenge like that."

Replays show that referee Stephen Martin’s decision to show Rodon his first yellow was indeed harsh, but the FA laws cannot come to Leeds United’s aid in these circumstances because clubs can only submit a claim of wrongful dismissal to a regulatory commission for a straight red card. Similarly, clubs can seek to limit a suspension by claiming clearly excessive punishment, but only in the event of a player being shown a straight red.

A club’s only possible route to overturning a yellow card through the FA’s disciplinary process is in a case of mistaken identity, if they believe another player committed a particular offence that led to a caution or dismissal. Evidently, in Rodon’s case, this does not apply.

Rodon will miss Leeds’ Elland Road meeting with Watford on Saturday because all suspensions are served immediately in the category of match that they were received in. The punishment for a second yellow stands at a one game suspension.

The Welsh international is the first Leeds player to be sent off this season. His cautions at Hull leave him level with Luke Ayling and Jamie Shackleton on two yellows for the season, while Ethan Ampadu currently has three to his name.