Abid (Standard) still suspended on appeal, sidelined for one match
The Disciplinary Council for Professional Football (DRP) of the Belgian Football Association (KBVB) imposed a one-day suspension on Standard winger Adnane Abid on Friday. Abid received a red card in the tumultuous match against Antwerp.
Abid’s exclusion was one of the reasons that the match between Standard and Antwerp got out of hand due to the supporters and had to be continued behind closed doors on Monday. In the 39th minute, the Moroccan Belgian stood on opponent Verstraeten’s ankle in two phases. Abid first received a yellow card, but after a VAR intervention Lothar D’Hondt adjusted it to red.
The Disciplinary Committee stated in the first instance that there was no tackle, as Abid would have been thrown off balance by the slide of Antwerp player Diawara and would therefore have involuntarily hit Verstraeten’s ankle. The federal public prosecutor’s office disagreed and appealed, with success. The Council followed the federal public prosecutor’s office that Abid had already used his action to push Diawara.
The Council does impose a lighter suspension than the federal public prosecutor’s office had requested. Not two, but one matchday suspension with postponement in addition to the effective suspension of one matchday. Abid must also pay a fine of 1,500 euros.