Brian Kaltak to face two-match ban after 3rd red card of the A-League season

Vanuatu international Brian Kaltak saw his third red card of the season last weekend in a match against Wellington Phoenix that ended up in a 1-1 draw. Kaltak is the only player of the 2022/23 A-League season to record three red cards so far. After serving one match-ban after his previous two red cards, Kaltak is now going to miss the upcoming two matches of the Central Coast Mariners in the competition. – as A-League regulations state. The club can still appeal against the decision and reduce the suspension for the defender; which they already tried before when Kaltak saw a questionable red card agains Sydney FC, but it is unlilkey the decision will go their side, as it was in the previous case.

The defender, that reccently penned a new contract for the team, turned rapidly into a fan favourite in Gosford – being nicknamed the ‘Brick Wall”. Despite seeing three reds – one last November against Macarthur, and two most recently against Sydney and Phoenix – Kaltak is still one of the top-performers of Mariners that are currently ranked second in the A-League’a ladder.

Kaltak’s not being seen as the guilty party by the Mariners fans; his previous two red cards are definitely very questionable; against Syndey he was was sent-off as the referee understood he denied a clear goalscoring chance to the opposition side. Last weekend in Gosford, Kaltak tackled Phoniex’s David Ball and touched the ball first before sliding it touching the player. Both decisions were seen to be taken very harshly on the defender.

The next two matches for the Mariners are against Western Sydney Wanderers and Macarthur; the fans expect that, somehow, the team can appeal against the latest red card and count on Brian Kaltak presence on at least one of the following matches.