Chelsea furious as FA uphold Nemanja Matic red card

Matic was the victim of a studs-up challenge from Ashley Barnes which was later described by Jose Mourinho as "criminal".

Yet it was the Serbian defender who received his marching orders as he picked himself and charged at Barnes from behind, knocking him to the turf.

The FA upheld Matic's red card on Tuesday, having announced on Monday that Barnes would not face any further action since his challenge had been seen at the time. However, the FA did reduce Matic's ban to two games instead of the automatic three.

Roger Burden, chairman of the regulatory commission, explained why the FA rejected Matic's appeal.

"The violent response to the nature of the tackle cannot be condoned and does not vindicate his subsequent actions," Burden said.

"The members of the commission did, however, accept the mitigation in respect of the level of force used by Mr Matic and the nature of the contact he made with Mr Barnes.

"Having made those considerations we determined the standard punishment of a three-match suspension would be clearly excessive and, therefore, ordered the suspension be reduced to two matches."

Chelsea have interpreted that as the decision going against them, as they explained in a statement on their website under the headline "Chelsea appalled with the FA's decision on Matic":

"The Chelsea Football Club Board is extremely disappointed and frustrated that the FA Regulatory Commission has today decided not to reduce Nemanja Matic’s suspension to the maximum extent permitted under FA rules.

"There has been universal condemnation of the reckless challenge made by Ashley Barnes on Matic, and it is the club’s view that he has been unjustly punished with a two-match ban for his reaction to a career-threatening tackle.

"It is Chelsea’s opinion that referees and the football authorities must do more to protect players at all levels of the game from dangerous challenges.

"This decision also clearly demonstrates a need for consistency and fairness in the disciplinary process. The club awaits The FA’s written reasons, prior to commenting further."

As bad as Barnes's challenge was - albeit one made to look worse by the constant slow-motion replays repeated on the news and in social media - Matic's violent reaction was as clear a red card as is imaginable. Violent retaliation against an opponent is simply beyond the pale, regardless of the level of provocation.

Chelsea's appeal against the red card was always going to be denied - and indeed, they are very lucky that Matic's ban was not extended given how frivolous their appeal was.

The FA have tried to placate the Premier League leaders by cutting the ban to two matches, thus taking into account the Barnes challenge and the strength of feeling it engendered.

But Chelsea's reaction to that trimming of the ban has been couched in language so strong that many will suspect what they really wanted was a new issue - one to force the horrifying racism of some of their fans off the back pages.