England’s preparations for their World Cup quarter-final encounter against Norway have suffered another setback after Jarell Quansah received a two-match suspension.
The England defender was dismissed during the dramatic 3-2 victory over Mexico after a high challenge on Jesus Gallardo.
FIFA’s disciplinary committee classified the tackle as serious foul play. Consequently, Quansah received an additional one-match suspension beyond the automatic ban.
The Bayer Leverkusen defender will miss Saturday’s meeting with Norway and he would also sit out a possible semi-final against either Argentina or Switzerland.
England can only call upon him again if they reach the final on 19 July. Unfortunately, tournament rules prevent the Football Association from appealing the punishment.
Officials within the FA still challenged the review process used before the red card decision. They believed the sequence of footage shown to the referee may have influenced the outcome unfairly.
England face defensive selection crisis before Norway clash
News Round The Clock understands the FA argued that slow-motion footage and a still image appeared before full-speed replays. They believe that sequence could have encouraged what they described as “outcome bias.”
Unlike FIFA’s approach, Premier League officials first review incidents at normal speed. However, England’s domestic system remains different from most competitions.
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The suspension increases Thomas Tuchel’s selection concerns at right-back. Quansah had started against Mexico because Reece James was unavailable through injury.
James is expected to return against Norway after recovering from his hamstring problem. Therefore, Tuchel could receive a timely boost despite Quansah’s absence.
Assistant coach Anthony Barry admitted losing Quansah hurts the squad. “Disappointing, not with the decision, just the fact that we lose a good player,” he said.
“He was excellent in training,” Barry added. “But the decision’s been made – we won’t waste any more energy on it.”
Bukayo Saka shared similar frustration. “It is what it is, we are not here to complain, we are here to adapt and to pick a team that is ready to beat Norway,” Saka stated.
Meanwhile, FIFA has appointed experienced French referee Clement Turpin to officiate Saturday’s crucial quarter-final encounter.
