Afellay suspension reduced

Stoke City midfielder Ibrahim Afellay has seen a three-match ban for slapping West Brom's Craig Gardner reduced by one game.

Afellay was dismissed in the 25th minute of the fixture at the Britannia Stadium – that Stoke lost 1-0 courtesy of a Salomon Rondon goal.

Charlie Adam was dismissed six minutes later for a stamp on Craig Dawson, leaving Mark Hughes' side with just nine men while the score remained at 0-0.

Afellay will miss games against Arsenal and Leicester City in the Premier League before returning to contention for a League Cup third-round tie at Fulham.