Leeds United win Gaetano Berardi's red card appeal, FA say Millwall's Tom Bradshaw won't face action

James Linington flashing the red card to Gaetano Berardi, a decision that has now been overturned (Pic: Getty)

A regulatory commission has decided to overturn the decision of referee James Linington to send the defender off in the 14th minute of Saturday's defeat to the Lions.

Berardi will now be free to face Birmingham City at Elland Road after the international break.

READ: YEP columnist Daniel Chapman analyses each of Berardi's eight Leeds red cardsAn FA statement said: "An independent regulatory commission has removed Gaetano Berardi's one-match suspension with immediate effect following a claim of wrongful dismissal.

"The Whites defender was sent off for denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity against Millwall in the EFL Championship on 5 October 2019."

Berardi was adjudged to have fouled Tom Bradshaw in the penalty area and saw red for the challenge.

Replays showed little contact between the players and Kalvin Phillips was close enough to cover for Berardi, whose initial mistake gifted the ball to Bradshaw.

The FA reviewed footage from a number of angles but no retrospective action will be taken against Bradshaw.

It was decided that the threshold was not met for the incident to be referred to a ‘successful deception of a match’ official panel.

Jed Wallace fired home the resulting penalty and 10-man Leeds went on to lose 2-1 at The Den, despite enjoying 68 per cent of the possession.

Linington's decision came under scrutiny following the game.

Leeds head coach Marcelo Bielsa refused to analyse the referee's performance but club owner Andrea Radrizzani Tweeted his dismay at 'wrong decisions' costing the Whites.

Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher disagreed with both the penalty award and the sending off."Even if it is a penalty I don't think it is a red card because Kalvin Phillips will cut him off when he goes down," he said.

"If he's touched, maybe he gets a little touch.

"But it's not a penalty for me and it's certainly not a red card."

Former Leeds defender Stephen Warnock called it an 'incredible' decision.

"When you talk about the players in and around, for a red card to be brandished is just incredible," he said.

"I wouldn't have been best pleased if that was me."