Chelsea: Branislav Ivanovic Ban Quashed Ahead Of Season Opener

Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic will not be suspended by the FA for his red card in the Community Shield on Sunday.

by Joseph Dempsey

A change in FA Ruling in August 2009 however, which stipulates that red cards picked up in pre-season fixtures do not carry over into competitive games, has made him eligible for selection for the blues visit to the DW Stadium. The news will come as a welcome relief to manager Roberto di Matteo. Ivanovi‡ was selected as the right-back of the season for the Premier League 2009/10 Season as Chelsea won the league title and the FA Cup Final that year. He was one of three players nominated for the Chelsea Player of the Year Award in 2010/11 and again in 2011/12, but lost out to Petr Cech and Juan Mata respectively. One of Chelsea's more reliable consistent players, he has featured in all of Chelsea's pre-season games this summer and captained the side against the Seattle Sounders in a 4-2 victory for the Stamford Bridge outfit.

Contributor
Contributor

Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.