Newcastle United defender DeAndre Yedlin will face no retrospective disciplinary action after a clash with Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud during their 2-1 defeat on Sunday, according to Sky Sports.
The broadcaster report that the incident was referred to the FA’s ‘not seen’ panel, with all three officials unanimous in deciding that the right-back had not committed a red card offence.
Sky Sports claim that Yedlin will now face no further action and will be free to play in the Magpies upcoming fixtures, including a Premier League clash with Manchester City on Saturday.
This is a major boost for Newcastle, whose squad depth has been exposed already this season after Yedlin’s injury on opening day against Tottenham.
OPINION
This is brilliant news for Newcastle, who would have been struggling badly at right-back should Yedlin have been given a retrospective ban for his clash with Giroud. An injury to Yedlin in their opener against Tottenham exposed a shortage of options in that position, and Javier Manquillo’s subsequent injury made those issues even worse for Rafa Benitez. If Yedlin was to receive a ban then that would likely leave Benitez with no choice but to play academy star Jamie Sterry there in his place, and that would be a move that carries a lot of risk. As it is, Yedlin is unlikely to be given that ban and Newcastle can now move on with their season, starting with their League Cup fixture against Nottingham Forest. A win in that will give the Magpies a bit of momentum heading into their tough match against City this weekend, and hopefully give them a boost as they look to recover from a poor start.
