Newcastle striker Alan Shearer has had his dismissal at Charlton last weekend overturned by the Football Association after his club lodged an appeal against the sending-off. The Magpies' captain was shown the red card by referee Andy D'Urso with only three minutes remaining in the Premiership clash at The Valley after assistant Graham Beale alerted him to an alleged off-the-ball incident involving Shearer and Charlton defender Jon Fortune.
Shearer was said to have allegedly elbowed Fortune as he challenged for a high ball but both he and manager Bobby Robson, backed up with television replays, insisted he was innocent of the offence. However, Charlton boss Alan Curbishley has now leapt to the defence of Fortune who has been criticised for his part in the incident.
"Jon was caught in the throat by Alan Shearer which is why he went down and stayed down. It is absolute nonsense to suggest that Jon acted dishonestly, which would be completely out of character. Maybe the referee could also look at the blatant penalty for handball we didn't get. Sometimes officials make mistakes and you have to live with that, but blaming Jon is completely unfair," said Curbishley.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
