STOKE City assistant boss Dave Kemp says the FA's decision to overturn Rory Delap's red card is a victory for common sense.

City were stunned when the midfielder was sent off for his 17th-minute sliding challenge on Crawley right-back David Hunt in Sunday's FA Cup fifth-round tie.

Hunt has revealed he suffered a broken bone in his foot from the challenge.

However, the FA's Independent Regulatory Commission yesterday agreed with Stoke that Delap was unfairly sent off.

The decision means the midfielder is spared a three-game ban, which would have ruled him out of the Premier League matches against Swansea, Norwich and Chelsea.

Kemp, pictured below, said: "We are delighted with the verdict, but it shouldn't have had to come to this.

"It was a perfectly good challenge, so thank goodness the FA panel has come up with the right decision.

"We still had to play most of the game at Crawley with 10 men, but we won the game so thankfully, in this instance, no harm has been done."

However, Kemp says the football authorities still need to look hard at how tackles are being interpreted by officials.

Stoke are still fuming that Robert Huth was red-carded for a sliding challenge in the 1-0 home defeat to Sunderland three weeks ago.

Stoke unsuccessfully appealed against that decision so Huth is two games into a three-match ban.

Kemp says the Huth dismissal and the initial decision to send off Delap show referees are in danger of turning the game into a non-contact sport.

He says a rash of players being sent off for using excessive force is doing the game no good.

He added: "The reason given has been excessive force, but what percentage of force should you be allowed to use in a challenge? "Should it be 48 per cent, or maybe 52 per cent?

"It is a nonsense. We want players give 100 per cent, and they should do the same when they make tackles. We all know what a foul is, but let's not pretend that good tackles are reckless or players are guilty of 'excessive force'.

"It is making a mockery of the game."

Referee Mike Jones initially signalled for a throw-in after Delap's challenge, but changed his mind after advice from the fourth official Lee Probert.

The officials were also put under pressure by the furious reaction from Crawley boss Steve Evans, who leapt from his dug-out to protest about the challenge. Kemp said: "You would hope the fourth official isn't influenced by people jumping up and down.

"We accept referees make mistakes, but I would like to get back to just having a referee and two linesmen.

"In our Europa League game tomorrow, we'll not only have a fourth official, but also two officials standing either side of the goals who, in my opinion, bring nothing to the game."