The Middlesbrough captain was given a straight red card for his part in the brawl at the end of the game between Tottenham and Middlesbrough on Tuesday night.

He had been sweating on the possibility of a four match suspension, where he would have missed the games against Wigan, Fulham, Charlton and Everton. However the panel from the FA decided that the acts committed by the Dutchman were not worthy of a straight dismissal.