Newcastle United key player ruled out for a month as official return date revealed - on one condition

The Magpies were reduced to 10 men after Schar clashed with Southampton forward Ben Brereton Diaz inside the opening half-hour. Brereton Diaz pushed Schar to the floor before hitting the ground himself after the Swiss centre-back got to his feet and gestured toward him with his head.

Referee Craig Pawson deemed Schar’s action as violent conduct and sent the Newcastle defender off while Brereton Diaz was shown a yellow card. Straight red cards for violent conduct result in a three-match ban for players.

United head coach Eddie Howe suggested the club may look to appeal the decision and reduce the suspension but, as things stand, Schar is set to miss the upcoming matches against AFC Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur before being back available for the Premier League match at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday, September 15 (4:30pm kick-off).

Unlike yellow card suspensions, which only apply to the competition in which they are awarded, red card suspensions in England transcend all domestic competitions, ruling Schar out for the Carabao Cup second round match at Nottingham Forest next week.

Examples of this happening with Newcastle previously include Nick Pope’s red card against Liverpool in the Premier League subsequently ruling him out of the Carabao Cup final against Manchester United in 2023. Bruno Guimaraes was shown a red card in the second leg of Newcastle’s Carabao Cup semi-final win over Southampton and missed the next three Premier League matches but was back available for the final.

It was Schar’s second red card for Newcastle following his late sending off in a 2-0 defeat against Arsenal in May 2021 which was also deemed controversial. The Magpies appealed the decision but an independent panel upheld the decision as the centre-back was forced to serve a three-match ban.