Everton have been left ‘disappointed’ after their appeal to overturn the red card shown to Michael Keane against Wolves on Wednesday was rejected by the FA.
FA Reject Michael Keane Red Card Appeal
A Football Association (FA) panel has rejected Everton’s appeal to overturn a red card shown to Michael Keane during the Toffees’ 1-1 draw against bottom-of-the-table Wolves on Wednesday.
The defender was shown a straight red card after pulling Tolu Arokodare’s hair in an incident categorised as violent conduct following a video assistant referee (VAR) review.
Keane has been handed a three-match ban as a result of the incident.
He will miss the Merseysiders’ FA Cup third round clash against Sunderland on Saturday afternoon, as well as Premier League fixtures against high-flying Aston Villa and in-form Leeds.
Everton released a statement on Friday slamming the decision not to overturn the red card.
They claim that the incident ‘did not meet the threshold for violent conduct as defined by the rules’, and that the ‘severity of the three-game suspension is clearly excessive’.
Additionally, the club wrote that they are ‘surprised and disappointed’ by the decision.
On-loan Manchester City midfielder Jack Grealish was also red-carded during the clash, as he was shown a second yellow card for sarcastically applauding a decision made by the referee.
Luckily for David Moyes’ side, they managed to hold on for a point to climb up to 12th place in the table. They now find themselves 15 points clear of the league’s relegation zone.
Overall though, the result was undoubtedly a disappointing one for Jordan Pickford and co.
It had been expected that the Toffees would come away with three points, given that Wolves are bottom of the table and are the favourites in the Premier League relegation odds market.
WATCH: Michael Keane Red Card vs Wolves
After a VAR review, Michael Keane is sent off for pulling Tolu Arokodare's hair 🟥 pic.twitter.com/o8Sz9UDiE3
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 7, 2026
Moyes: Keane Red Card a ‘Terrible Decision’
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunderland’s visit in the FA Cup, Moyes branded the decision to send Keane off as ‘terrible’ and echoed Everton’s statement.
He told reporters: “Hugely disappointed. Hugely surprised.
“I’m probably more angry with the panel who thought that was the case. I have to question the three. I know who the three are and I’m amazed they in some way didn’t overturn it.
“We saw last night that it’s OK to throw a ball at somebody, it’s OK to push and pick up someone with a bad injury. But that a little pull of someone’s hair, accidentally, means a three-game ban is quite extraordinary for me.”
Of course, this is in reference to an incident involving Gabriel Martinelli and Conor Bradley. The former attempted to push the latter off the field as he lay on the ground injured on Thursday.
Moyes continued, slamming the length of Keane’s ban: “Three games for what shouldn’t have been any games. I’m more embarrassed for whoever was on VAR.
“This is a young referee doing only his third or fourth game and VAR gave him a terrible decision. They shouldn’t have got involved at all.
“Embarrassed for them, looking to find the smallest things. I don’t think anybody would have paid any interest in it anyway [if not picked up].”
Keane is set to return to the fold for Everton’s trip to Brighton at the end of the month.
