David Beckham has won his appeal against the red card he received against Valencia and will be able to play for Real Madrid against Deportivo La Coruna on Thursday.
Beckham was shown a yellow card for dissent and then a straight red after he sarcastically applauded referee Arturo Dauden Ibanez.
Madrid appealed the red card yesterday and their appeal was upheld by the disciplinary committee.
“The judicial services of Real Madrid are analyzing the video of the game, along with various photographs to show that David Beckham’s actions in no way were an act of disrespect towards Dauden Ibanez,” read a statement on the club’s official website.
Beckham was exonerated because he was not facing the referee when he applauded.
“The player does applaud, but with his back to the director of the game, it is not in a confrontational attitude, but as he goes back to take up his position on the pitch,” the committee said in a statement.
“It is without doubt an attitude worthy of reproach, but which proceeds from the original protest.”
“We appreciate in what happened, that there was no desire to insult or show disrespect to the referee, which leads us to sanction what happened as just one infraction,” the committee said.
