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As we all saw on Sunday, Laurent Koscielny did a very, very dumb thing. He went in for a tackle he didn’t need to leave his feet for, in doing so he scythed down Enner Valencia, and was immediately - and correctly - red carded for his trouble. It wasn’t a Roy Keane-level tackle, there was no malice or intent to injure in it, but it was really stupid of him to do.
We suspected that he’d miss the FA Cup final, and that was confirmed today:
BREAKING: Laurent Koscielny to serve three-match ban & will miss @FA Cup final. Defender suspended after FA reject @Arsenal appeal. #SSNHQ pic.twitter.com/rkvk6u2Gqu
— Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) May 23, 2017
This ban does carry into next season, so if Arsenal win the FA Cup, he’ll miss the Community Shield plus Arsenal’s first league match; if Arsenal don’t win the FA Cup, he’ll miss Arsenal’s first two league matches.
I wish I could summon up some sense of injustice or outrage over this decision, but it is absolutely correct - Kos had no business doing what he did, and the punishment he got was both expected and correct.