Competition leader Union has been proven right in the case surrounding defender Christian Burgess (32). The Englishman can play in the top match against Anderlecht on Sunday.
Valerie Van Avermaet, Bart Lagae
Today at 4:15 PM
Union can breathe a sigh of relief. After Christian Burgess’ red card against Racing Genk, a series arose in which the Brussels club risked missing its defender not one but three matchdays. Union kept Burgess aside against Cercle Brugge in the belief that he was serving a day of suspension. But the federal prosecutor’s office appealed against that decision on the same day, resulting in the suspension being lifted and Burgess risking two new suspension days. It doesn’t get that far. Not only is the punishment limited to one match day, the disciplinary council rules that Burgess has already served his sentence against Cercle.
At the hearing of the disciplinary council, Union had argued that the appeal had been filed too late. The club was informed informally on Saturday, but when the match sheet had to be completed on Sunday, Burgess’ name was still red on the football association’s digital E-kickoff platform. The formal appeal had already been emailed to the registry of the federal public prosecutor’s office, but Union was not included in the copy of that email.
Even though the disciplinary council states that the federal public prosecutor’s office did not make any regulatory errors, it understands the situation of Union, which was in legal uncertainty about Burgess. “It is regrettable that the club was not included in a copy of the formal appeal from the federal public prosecutor’s office,” the disciplinary board writes. “There are several imperfections in the procedure that have led the club to decide not to field player Burgess. The player was therefore suspended for reasons beyond his control. For this reason, the council judges that Christian Burgess has served his suspension.”
The council does not believe that the original punishment of one actual match day and one conditional match day should be increased. Burgess did throw a ball voluntarily in the face of striker Tolu, but did so with “moderate intensity”. Due to his clean criminal record – the 32-year-old defender has never received a red card before – the punishment imposed in the first instance is sufficient, the disciplinary council writes.
The decision is a defeat for the federal public prosecutor’s office, which is now considering the ruling. If it believes that procedural errors have been made, it can still bring the case before the Football Association’s evocation committee. However, there is a good chance that the public prosecutor’s office will leave the matter at that. In any case, Christian Burgess can play again on Sunday in the top match against Anderlecht.
