Fans of rival clubs shocked and baffled by McGowan's red card and Cobblers' failed appeal

Cobblers supporters were not the only ones to be left shocked and bewildered by the decision to uphold Aaron McGowan’s three-game ban following his sending off against Crawley Town on Saturday.

The red card itself was highly controversial but the decision by an FA panel not to overturn McGowan’s suspension came as an even bigger surprise given video footage showed barely any contact during the incident.

Fans of clubs up and down the country – including several promotion rivals in League Two – have expressed their dismay after seeing the footage on social media. A Swindon supporter described the decision as ‘laughable’ while another said it was ‘embarrassing from the EFL’. A Stevenage summed it up by simply stating: ‘Oh my God’.

Even Specsavers got involved, jokingly messaging the club on Twitter to ask: “Does anyone have a contact number for the FA?”

These were just some of the hundreds of outraged comments from fans of other clubs…

• "That’s an absolute disgrace, how has that not been overturned? The review panel have got to be asked questions here.”
• “Honestly as a neutral this is absolutely shocking. How can they judge this to stand. I’d love know the reasoning behind it.”
• "How in the world is this a red card?! Like literally what has the lino seen?!”
• “The standard of officiating in the EFL is diabolical.”
• "Strong contender for the worst refereeing decision of all time.”
• "Speechless. Bad enough that it got given as a red originally but these things happen. How on earth have they rejected the appeal though, what are they watching?”
• “That is absolutely ludicrous. Punishing a player for doing absolutely nothing. How we supposed to clamp down on diving etc if the authorities are allowing things like this to occur.”