Aitor Karanka believes Tobias Figueiredo “can feel hard done by” after his red card against Aston Villa on Wednesday night. The Nottingham Forest defender was sent off for a dangerous tackle on John McGinn in the 68th minute, but Simon Hooper’s decision cause a lot of controversy after replays showed Figueiredo’s tackle to be more of a yellow card offence.
The 24-year-old could be banned for three games, meaning he’ll miss fixtures against Ipswich Town (home) on Saturday, Preston North End (home) on December 8 and Derby County (away) on December 17. Forest can appeal and Karanka’s recent comments hint that the club might fight the red card as they believe it was awarded unfairly.
He said on the EFL Show (h/t Nottingham Live): “I’ll be the first to say if I feel that it should be a red card, and I just don’t with this one. He is genuinely looking to get the ball. He is late, but he’s not, for me, gone in high. And he’s gone in one footed, with his foot sliding along the floor. I think he can feel a little bit hard done by. Of course, it’s a late tackle, but I didn’t feel it was a red card.”
If Forest are unsuccessful in their appeal, Michael Hefele is likely to come in for Figueiredo. The 28-year-old replaced Joao Carvalho immediately after the red card and was a regular in the defence up until mid-October. Hefele has made 11 appearances in all competitions since his move from Huddersfield Town over the summer and may get an opportunity to prove his worth in December.
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