Will Blackpool appeal the red card shown to Shayne Lavery during incident-packed game against Sheffield United?

It’s understood Thompson and Ekpiteta will both serve one-game bans after being sent off during yesterday’s thrilling 3-3 draw at Bramall Lane.

The defensive duo were sent their marching orders during the final stages of the game after being shown second yellow cards.

It meant Michael Appleton’s side, who were leading 3-2 at the time, were forced to play the final 10 minutes of time, plus eight minutes of stoppage time, with just nine men.

The Seasiders held on until the dying seconds when Oliver Norwood struck a last-gasp equaliser in the 98th minute.

Thompson had already accumulated four bookings prior to Saturday’s game, one short of the five-game cut-off point to receive a one-game suspension.

Ekpiteta, meanwhile, had already been shown three yellow cards this term.

However, under FA rules, the duo will both serve a one-game suspension as a result of their red cards, meaning they will miss Wednesday night’s home game against Hull City but return for the derby against Preston North End next weekend.

Their two yellow cards count as a red, so they will both remain on four and three bookings for the season respectively.

Shayne Lavery, meanwhile, is facing the prospect of missing three games after being shown a straight red card after the final whistle.

It followed a coming together between the two sets of players, with Lavery seen being wrestled to the ground by Blades goalkeeper Wes Foderingham – who was also shown red.

The Gazette understands Blackpool are likely to appeal Lavery’s red given he didn’t appear to do a lot wrong on the footage. However, the club are still waiting to read referee David Webb’s report before lodging an official appeal.

Both clubs are being investigated and are likely to be charged and subsequently fined for failing to ensure their players behaved in an “orderly fashion”.

Blackpool’s fine is likely to be bigger given they’ve already been punished this season following the scuffle against Burnley in August.

Speaking straight after the game, The Gazette asked head coach Michael Appleton if the club are likely to appeal Lavery’s red card.

He said: “Potentially, I don’t know what the format is.

“All I saw is him getting wrestled to the ground, so I will speak to the guys and see where we stand with it.”

A little bizarrely, Sheffield United are also considering appealing the red card brandished to Foderingham, despite the footage appearing relatively cut and dried.

“We’ll look at the appeal, yes,” Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom confirmed to our sister paper, the Sheffield Star.

“It looks like he’s fighting, it looks like they’re fighting. But talking to their staff afterwards, they say they weren’t.

“Shayne has apparently tried to pull Wes away from what was going on and, as that’s happened and he’s rolled around, they’ve gone over. We’ll have to have a look at it and then see what we do.”