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Jeff Winter delivers verdict on red card handed to Aston Villa ace Lansbury
By Abigail Withey
Former Premier League referee Jeff Winter believes that James Linington made the correct decision by showing Aston Villa midfielder Henri Lansbury a red card on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old was dismissed in the 64th minute of Villa’s Championship clash against Middlesbrough after he fouled Marvin Johnson.
Lansbury, who joined Villa in the January transfer window, was the second player to be sent off during the goalless draw as Middlesbrough winger Adama Traore was sent of after just four minutes on the pitch.
The former referee retired back in 2004 after he took charge on the 2004 FA Cup Final between Manchester United and Millwall which was his last match as a professional.
Winter, who is a huge Middlesbrough fan, was watching the game from the press box at Villa Park and had a clear view of the incident which is why he believes it was the right decision to send the former Arsenal player off.
“If Lansbury had just tripped Marvin Johnson then it would have been a yellow because it wasn’t a goalscoring opportunity. But he took it to another level by more or less kicking him,” Winter said, as quoted by the Gazette Live.
“If anyone was going to say a red card was harsh, then of the two, the Lansbury one was harsher than Traore’s.
“If the ref wanted to bottle it he could have just booked Lansbury, but he didn’t and that was the right decision.”
Manager Steve Bruce didn’t agree with the decision and simply said: “The second red card was a brave refereeing decision.”
Aston Villa have since made the decision to appeal Lansbury’s red card on the grounds of wrongful dismissal.
If the appeal isn’t successful then the midfielder will face a three match ban which will mean that he misses Villa’s matches against Barnsley, Middlesbrough in the EFL Cup and former club Nottingham Forest.
In other Aston Villa news, Lee Hendrie has slammed the club’s recruitment.
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