Red Card Rescinded; Taylor Available Friday

In a unanimous decision, the Independent Review Panel has wiped the red card that referee Kevin Stott handed to Houston Dynamo defender Jermaine Taylor last Saturday. The decision comes after the Dynamo officially submitted an appeal to the panel for a review of the 77th minute "handball" that Stott claims to have witnessed. The successful appeal will allow Jermaine Taylor to be available for Friday's home match against FC Dallas.

In the midst of a hectic scramble in the box on Saturday night against Sporting Kansas City, Jermaine Taylor stepped onto the goalline to make a clearance. Taylor dropped his chest to control the ball, simultaneously moving his arm purposefully behind his back so as to avoid a handball. Stott, who stood within ten yards, had a clear viewing angle on the play, made the incorrect call, and seemed to have ignored the input of the linesman after the play. The resulting mess of argument, pushing, and pleading that followed the penalty would give Stott reason to add six minutes of stoppage time -- enough for Benny Feilhaber to execute a wonderstrike that split the points between the teams.

Dynamo Theory took a comprehensive look at the red card that influenced the wild match against Sporting Kansas City and came to the unsurprising conclusion that Jermaine Taylor's punishment was incorrect and no penalty should have occurred. Since then, fans have wrung their hands, waiting for official word of the Panel consisting of members from the US and Canada's soccer federations and PRO, the referee organization.

The decision does little to repair the damage from Stott's howler of a match but, with a full team available on Friday, it is now time to move on and focus on yet another rivalry match at BBVA Compass Stadium on Friday.