Aston Villa appeal for Duran red card rejected by the FA

Aston Villa’s appeal for Jhon Duran’s red card against Newcastle United to be overturned has been rejected by the Football Association.

Duran was sent off in the 32nd minute of the Villans’ 3-0 defeat at St. James’ Park after appearing to stamp on Fabian Schar in an attempt to win the ball back in the final third.

He became the second-youngest player to be sent off in the Premier League in a Boxing Day fixture (21y 13d), behind Wayne Rooney against Birmingham City in 2002 (17y 63d).

Duran will now miss Villa’s next three top-flight fixtures, starting with Brighton on Sunday as well as their first two games of 2025 against Leicester City and West Ham.

The Colombian had made more Premier League starts this December than in the rest of his Villa career combined, but will now be forced to watch on from the sidelines.

Only Morgan Rogers (eight) and Ollie Watkins (10) have been involved in more goals in the top-flight this season than Duran (seven) for Unai Emery’s side.

Duran is Villa’s top scorer across all competitions, scoring 12 goals in 26 appearances, with three of those strikes coming in the Champions League this campaign.

Only Chris Wood (five) has scored more winning goals in the Premier League this season than Duran (four), with Villa hopeful Watkins can do the business in his absence.