When will the Villa striker serve his suspension and why his red card remains

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery was understandably underwhelmed at the prospect of losing Jhon Duran to suspension following the forward’s dismissal at Newcastle on December 26.

Colombia international Duran had scored in his four previous matches and established himself as a starter before suffering one of his worst moments of the season.

Referee Anthony Taylor ordered Duran off after an incident involving home defender Fabian Schar after 32 minutes of the Premier League game, but Emery, the Villa fans and many other fans and pundits were baffled by the decision.

Here’s what you need to know about Duran’s suspension, including which games he’ll miss and why his suspension was upheld.

IMPORTANT: The FA rejected Aston Villa’s appeal to overturn Jhon Duran’s red card 🚨 pic.twitter.com/UaDWdE4hBQ

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) December 27, 2024

Jhon Duran suspension

Villa will be without Duran for a total of three games, starting with a visit to Brighton & Hove Albion on Monday (19.45 GMT).

He will also be absent for their home game against Leicester City next Saturday (3pm) and their FA Cup third round tie against West Ham at Villa Park on January 10 (8pm).

Duran has featured in all 26 of Villa’s games in all competitions this season, initially proving to be a highly effective substitute with goals in the first four of five Premier League games from the bench.

Duran recently took his tally for the campaign to 12 as partner and replacement for Ollie Watkins, allowing the England international to rest.

Was John Duran unhappy? 🟥 #BBCFootball #MOTD pic.twitter.com/gbfHqITTna

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) December 27, 2024

Duran’s red card: Why did the Premier League reject the appeal?

As Emery’s remarks strongly suggested, Villa launched an appeal against Duran’s red card in the hope of overturning the call.

“His reaction after the player (Schar) was over him was ‘sorry, sorry’,” said the Spaniard. “He didn’t hit him on purpose… that’s a big punishment for this action.

“I can accept that the other team might be looking for a red card, okay. But VAR (should have intervened) and confirmed that (it was not intentional), because the penalty is now three games.”

Unfortunately for Emery, the Premier League subsequently found Duran guilty of violent conduct, enforcing the ban.

Aston Villa schedule

Emery could take some solace from all of Villa’s games in Duran’s absence as they are at home and look decidedly victorious.

Brighton are on a six-game winless run and capitulated 6-1 at Villa last season, while Leicester have won just once away from home in 2024/25 and West Ham lost their last visit at Villa Park 4-1.