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Red card roulette: Two independent panels disagree over Struijk dismissal

Pascal Struijk’s red card has been so divisive that two independent panels have now disagreed over whether the Brighton defender deserved to be sent off, adding to the confusion of former Premier League referees and Sky Sports pundits.

Published: Wednesday, 21 October 2026 at 3:57 PM
Red card roulette: Two independent panels disagree over Struijk dismissal
Key Things to Know
  • Two independent panels disagreed over whether Brighton defender Pascal Struijk should have been sent off against Sunderland.
  • Brighton won the match 2-0 after Struijk was initially dismissed following a VAR review by referee Thomas Bramall.
  • An independent regulatory commission overturned Struijk's red card and one-match ban on appeal.
The Story in 60 Seconds

Two independent panels have disagreed regarding the controversial sending-off of Brighton defender Pascal Struijk against Sunderland. Struijk received a red card for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity against Wilson Isidor after a VAR review by referee Thomas Bramall during Brighton's 2-0 victory. While an independent regulatory commission overturned the red card and subsequent ban on appeal, the Premier League's Key Match Incidents panel later voted 3-2 that the VAR intervention was correct.

The KMI panel ruled that Struijk committed a cynical foul, but former Premier League referees Mike Dean and Dermot Gallagher criticized the decision to intervene, arguing that Isidor was unlikely to reach the ball ahead of goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen. The Premier League noted that both panels are entirely separate bodies with different purposes.

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