Exclusive: Leeds United to appeal Jaka Bijol suspension ahead of Everton clash
Leeds United could still appeal Jaka Bijol’s suspension as Daniel Farke’s side prepare to face Everton, according to Keith Hackett.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that the player’s unavailability should not have come as a surprise to the newly promoted Premier League side.
Farke’s side won promotion back to the top tier of English football quite convincingly last season, beating Burnley to the league title on goal difference, with both sides finishing on 100 points.
Since then, the Whites have added Lukas Nmecha, Sebastiaan Bornauw, Gabriel Gudmundsson, and Sean Longstaff to the squad, joined by Bijol from Udinese on a £15million deal [Sky Sports].
Jaka Bijol unavailable for Leeds United v Everton
Sadly, for one of those signings, they will not be available to make their Premier League debut when the Whites welcome Everton to Elland Road on Monday, 18 August, due to his disciplinary record.
During his final game for Udinese, Bijol received a yellow card after nine minutes before being handed another yellow card 30 minutes later, sending him to the changing rooms for the rest of the game.
He will, therefore, not be available for selection with the ban carrying over from Serie A to the Premier League, and supporters are, understandably, annoyed by the rules.
Bijol has already been warned about his behaviour at Leeds, but with the player transitioning to a whole new league across Europe, Hackett believes the newly promoted club may attempt to appeal the decision.
Daniel Farke unlikely to have full squad for Premier League opener
Hackett spoke exclusively to Football Insider about Leeds’ chances of a successful appeal should they push for Bijol to be available, saying: “The game is run on an international basis. Leeds may wish to appeal, albeit you cannot appeal against two yellow cards.
“FIFA are putting forward the proposal of a rule change, where a second yellow card can be reviewed. My only problem with that is that, often, it is the first yellow card which should not have been awarded.
“How do you get over that? That’s a problem. The rules and regulations are in place for a reason. When signing the player, Leeds must have known that was the case.
“They’ve got more time to prepare the player for the English game now. It will be interesting; Watch this space. They can appeal [against the suspension], but I think it’s unlikely that there will be any movement.”