Manchester City hope DVD evidence will help overturn Vincent Kompany's ban In response to widespread criticism of Dean's decision to dismiss Kompany, a reminder of the guidance offered to clubs and players by the Professional Game Match Officials Ltd on tackling and the application of Law 12 - the interpretation of tackles - was tweeted by the Premier League on Monday. Following a spate of controversial decisions on tackling incidents last season, all clubs were sent written and DVD guidance last February to clarify Law 12. Central to the PGMOL guidance was the reminder that "if a player commits a tackle at speed, with intensity and with both feet off the ground, they run the risk of the challenge being punished with a red card." Mike Riley, the head of Premier League referees, said: "The message is that if you commit to a tackle that is at speed and with intensity, typically with both feet off the ground, then you put yourself at risk of being sent off. The law specifies the distinction between careless, reckless and excessive force. Ultimately, it's about determining the difference between yellow card and red card offences. City team-mate Pablo Zabaleta admitted his surprise at Dean's decision to brandish the red card in the match against Arsenal. "My impression at the time was that he went in hard but not with any malicious intent," Zabaleta said. It wasn't a red card, for me. Yes, we know that if you go in with two feet then it is a risk of being red, but I don't know if Kompany did. Just because a tackle is two-footed does not mean it is necessarily dangerous. He went with two feet because twisting his body could have hurt his knee. The referee saw that it was with two feet, but for me it was not a red. For defenders we run the risk of being sent off with every tackle. It is difficult to understand what we have to do, but in the end it is up to the referees to decide. City will discover no later than 6pm on Tuesday if Kompany has succeeded in his appeal, but manager Roberto Mancini faces a defensive crisis if the FA upholds the suspension. With Kolo Touré unavailable until mid-February on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Ivory Coast and Micah Richards not due to return from a knee injury until the end of next month, Mancini is faced with having only Joleon Lescott and Matija Nastastic available as recognised centre-halves. Mancini has been reluctant to use Lescott and Nastasic as a partnership because both are left-footed, but midfielder Jack Rodwell, who operated at centre-half for Everton, could solve the problem if he continues to make progress in recovering from three months out with a hamstring injury. Rodwell said: "I feel really fit. I've been doing a lot of strengthening work because I've been out so long with my hamstring, so it's taken time. It's easily the worst injury setback of my career because I've been out for more than three months now. But I'll begin full training this week, then I'll need 10 days to a fortnight to get back up to speed and I'll be available for selection again.