Watford's Christian Kabasele Free to Face Arsenal on Saturday After FA Rescinds Red Card
The red card awarded to Watford defender Christian Kabasele in the Carabao Cup tie against Tottenham on Wednesday has been overturned on appeal by the Football Association.
Kabasele was dismissed in the 81st minute of the match for pulling down Dele Alli in the box. A straight red card was produced and Alli converted the resulting spot-kick.
The Belgian centre back, who is yet to miss a moment of Premier League action so far this season, will now be available for Saturday's match against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
"Christian Kabasele’s one-match suspension has been withdrawn with immediate effect after his wrongful dismissal claim was upheld," said the FA in a statement, via Watford's official website.
"The Watford player had been sent-off for denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday [26/09/18]."
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Tottenham were already down to ten men because Serge Aurier had been forced off with an injury after Mauricio Pochettino had made all three substitutions, so Kabasele's red card levelled the numbers.
Erik Lamela and Etienne Capoue exchanged late goals to take the match to penalties, where Tottenham goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga denied Capoue and Domingos Quina to send Spurs through to the next round.
Kabasele joined Watford from Genk in 2016 and has since made 56 appearances for the Hornets, scoring five goals. This was his first red card in England.
