Jack Grealish has been cleared to play for Aston Villa in their play-off clash against West Brom at The Hawthorns on Tuesday night, according to Birmingham Mail reporter Paul Suart.
The reliable journalist claimed via his personal Twitter account that the FA reviewed an incident in the second half of the first-leg at Villa Park on Saturday which saw Grealish fouled by Kieran Gibbs and resulted in a penalty kick for Villa.
It is understood that the FA deemed that there was no act of simulation by Grealish and he is free to play in the second-leg of Villa’s play-off final against the Baggies.
Jack Grealish cleared to face West Brom in tomorrow night's semi-final second leg. The FA referred Saturday's penalty incident to an ind panel, but found there was no act of simulation. #wba #avfc
— Paul Suart (@PaulSuartWBA) May 13, 2019
OPINION
Grealish definitely played for the foul and there was minimal contact with Gibbs and that’s all the FA seem to care about when they make these decisions now. The FA need to come down strong on simulation because Grealish has done the best that he could to ensure that the referee awarded his side a penalty kick. However a player as Gibbs should have been experienced enough to know that lunging in on Grealish is a bad idea, especially in the penalty box. West Brom lacked discipline on Saturday and that cost them a 2-1 defeat in the first-leg and it also cost them Dwight Gayle, who may have played his final match in blue and white stripes at Villa Park when he was sent off for two yellow cards. West Brom need to be a lot smarter on Tuesday night if they want to win the second-leg and book their spot at Wembley and that means not making any contact in the box with Grealish unless they are 100 per cent certain of winning the ball.