Fylde winger Ben Tollitt will now be available for this afternoon’s trip to Kettering Town after the club successfully appealed the red card he received against Southport FC.
Ben Tollitt was dismissed on 39 minutes at Mill Farm on Monday, having been judged to have endangered an opponent with a tackle inside his own half.
Following an appeal process and a review by an independent regulatory commission at the Football Association, the card and subsequent suspension have now been rescinded.
The response from the FA read: “At a meeting of a Regulatory Commission held 3 September 2021, the Members considered your claim of wrongful dismissal & excessive punishment in relation to the above player. From the evidence adduced, the Members ruled that it was a case of wrongful dismissal.”
On the news, Coasters boss Jim Bentley commented: “Ben is a big player for us and we as a football club are really pleased that his red card has been overturned.
“At the time, I didn’t think the tackle was a red card, and having viewed the incident many times since, I don’t even think it was a foul as it was an honest attempt by Ben to win the ball. The footage validated our initial opinion in that Ben clearly won the ball before there was contact with the Southport player.
“Thankfully for us we still went on to win the game and now that the panel have reviewed the tackle, we feel the outcome is a fair decision for Ben and the football club.”