West Ham win appeal over Kouyate red card

Football Soccer - Blackburn Rovers v West Ham United - FA Cup Fifth Round - Ewood Park - 15/16 - 21/2/16. West Ham's Cheikhou Kouyate reacts after being sent off Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine

(Reuters) - West Ham United have won an appeal against the red card shown to midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate during Sunday's FA Cup fifth-round win at Blackburn Rovers.

The 26-year-old midfielder was adjudged by referee Jonathan Moss to have denied Rovers a clear goal-scoring opportunity when he brought down defender Adam Henley during the 5-1 win.

The Football Association said on its website (www.thefa.com) that an independent regulatory commission had overturned the decision and withdrawn the automatic one-match suspension that accompanies the offence after West Ham appealed.

Kouyate is now available to face Sunderland in the Premier League on Saturday.

(Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)