Incredulous Kevin Nolan 'can't believe' Jack Perkins' red card against Peterborough wasn't overturned

Perkins was given his marching orders for a high challenge on Peter Kioso just 10 minutes into the game, an incident that angered Nolan at the time. The club appealed the decision earlier this week and submitted evidence of similar challenges from Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze and Brighton’s Diego Gómez in the Premier League over the weekend, neither of which were deemed worthy of a red card despite the assistance of video technology (VAR).

However, an FA panel upheld the original decision and therefore Perkins will miss the next three games, starting with Friday’s visit of Wimbledon, followed by the trips to Burton Albion and Huddersfield Town after Christmas.

"I’m very frustrated because I thought we had good grounds to appeal,” said Nolan. “I can’t quite believe it hasn’t been overturned if I’m honest. I don’t think anyone at the time thought it was a red card.

"When you look back, it made sense just to do the right thing but we have to move on. It’s unfortunate for Jack because he’ll miss three games and it’s unfortunate for us because we won’t have him for three games. We’ve lost a key player and that’s down to a poor decision.

"It was a key moment and it changed the game but I was proud of what we produced and the fight and resilience we showed on the day, but it didn’t get us anything in the end and we have to move on. It’s all put to bed and Wimbledon is the focus now.”