Nathan Collins: Stoke City defender has red card overturned
- Published
Nathan Collins protested his innocence following his red card, as did Stoke captain John Obi Mikel
Stoke City defender Nathan Collins has had the red card he was given in the 2-2 draw with Barnsley rescinded.
Collins was sent off after an hour for an off-the-ball tussle with Barnsley's Dominik Frieser.
The incident was missed by the referee, but his assistant felt Collins was guilty of violent conduct.
The club successfully appealed against the decision to the Football Association on Wednesday and Collins' three-match ban has been overturned.
"Having watched it back the assistant should never have been making that decision," Potters manager Michael O'Neill told BBC Radio Stoke.
"It's not a situation where someone would elbow someone in the face in all honesty, and Nathan's not that kind of a lad. He's devastated in there and it's a really, really poor decision."