Real Salt Lake win appeal, Diego Luna red card rescinded | OneFootball

Real Salt Lake has won its appeal of a controversial red card awarded to Diego Luna during the Claret-and-Cobalt's 1-0 home loss to Toronto FC this weekend.

Luna was sent off in the 61st minute of the match after he tangled with Raoul Petretta in the penalty box during the taking of an RSL corner kick.

Luna appeared to try and pull his leg free from the tangle and was sent off for perceived violent conduct by referee Drew Fischer, even though his video assistant referee recommended a pitchside review at the replay monitor.

Replays appeared to show Luna did not kick at Petretta.

Big impact

Luna's presence in San Diego could be critical for a Salt Lake side that has been offensively challenged so far.

Although RSL is reportedly nearing a move for Boavista and Slovakia national team striker Robert Bozenik, he's unlikely to be available for the weekend. And Luna's three goals this season make him the only RSL player to find the net multiple times, during a season when manager Pablo Mastroeni's group has been outscored 14-8 over six matches.

San Diego, meanwhile, has proven plenty capable in attack, scoring 15 times through its first nine games as an MLS club.

Not the only refereee issue

The finding that Luna's red card was incorrectly issued completes a weekend in which controversial officiating decisions were in the headlines in multiple games.

Both Portland manager Phil Neville and LAFC boss Steve Cherundolo were vocally critical of how referee Guido Gonzales Jr. handled their teams' 3-3 draw on Saturday night.

Gonzales' crew ruled two apparent early LAFC goals offside, sent off Cherundolo in the middle of the second half, and eventually awarded LAFC a late, match-tying penalty following a video review.