Wednesday 31 December 2014 15:24, UK
Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh has had a one-game suspension rescinded, making him eligible for Sunday's NFC wild card game against the Dallas Cowboys.
Appeals officer Ted Cottrell reduced the punishment to a $70,000 fine after Suh was suspended for one game on Monday for violating safety-related playing rules prohibiting unnecessary roughness.
Suh appealed the initial penalty, which he was given for stepping on the left leg of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers during the fourth quarter of Sunday's regular season finale.
With Rodgers in a defenceless posture, Suh backed up and stepped on the quarterback's leg with his right foot before repeating the move with his left foot in a display of "unnecessary roughness", the NFL said in a statement on Monday.
"You did not respond in the manner of someone who had lost his balance and accidentally contacted another player who was lying on the ground," Merton Hanks, the NFL's vice president of football operations, said.
"This illegal contact, specifically the second step and push off with your left foot, clearly could have been avoided."
Suh has a history with the Packers, having been suspended for two games back in 2011 for stomping on the arm of center Evan Dietrich-Smith, and he was fined $110,000 last season for an illegal block on Minnesota Vikings center John Sullivan.
A suspension could have marked the end of Suh's Detroit career as the 27-year-old is a free agent this off-season.
Watch the NFL play-offs live on Sky Sports 2 HD this weekend. Detroit's clash with Dallas closes wildcard weekend with coverage starting at 9:30pm.
