Red-Card Hammer Can Face Magpies – Thanks To Premier League ‘Loophole’

With well documented problems in midfield, West Ham’s beleaguered boss Julen Lopetegui will not have to do without one of his key players who served a one match ban following his straight red card against Nottingham Forest.

Edson Alvarez sat out the Everton game but, under Premier League rules, would have had a further one-match ban added as this was his second red of the season ( and it is only November). However, I was caught out by the little-known rule that because his other red card was in the Carabao Cup against Liverpool, this ‘totting-up’ extra game ban -which is a Premier League rule – does not apply.

Shieldsgazette.co.uk in fact alerted me to this in their article today: Premier League rules dictate that if a player receives two red cards in a season, then an additional game is added to their suspension, with two games added for a third red card.

Alvarez will, therefore, be available for selection for the trip to St James’ Park. Reports out of Mexico indicate that he had a pretty quiet first leg against Honduras which his Mexico side lost 2-0.

In a pretty feisty affair, Mexican coach Javier Aguirre was treated for a gashed head following an object hitting him from the crowd. The return leg is on Wednesday and we hope Edson Alvarez can keep out of trouble again and come back to West Ham neither injured nor under another disciplinary cloud as has been the case in the last international break: Last time out he was yellow carded for fighting.

Having apologised profusely to his team mates for letting them down it would be good to see Alvarez step up and put in a shift against Newcastle: Assuming he gets selected!