Steve Sidwell has had his appeal over the red card he picked up on Monday rejected, the Club has announced - The midfielder was shown a straight red by referee Lee Probert for a late tackle on Armand Traore in the latter stages of the game. After the win, which all but secured Fulham's top-flight status, manager Martin Jol told Sky Sports: "The Sidwell sending off I thought was a bit harsh, that was difficult for us. It was a bit unfortunate.'' The club duly appealed the dismissal but received word on Wednesday that the referee's decision had been upheld by a Football Association panel. A statement on the club's official website read: "Following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing on Wednesday, Steve Sidwell has had his claim for wrongful dismissal rejected. "Sidwell was dismissed for serious foul play during our game at home to Queens Park Rangers on April 1, 2013. The player's three-match ban will therefore commence with immediate effect, meaning he will miss our trips to Newcastle United and Aston Villa, as well as our SW6 derby against Chelsea at Craven Cottage." Hmmm! please log in to view this image
Ridiculous, but expected decision. The FA never rescind a red card unless it's from one of the 'big four'.
This is so frustrating. At what does a tackle where the player's eyes are firmly on the ball and his studs are not showing constitute a red card. It was a very firm challenge and was definately a foul. It deserved a yellow card. Still Probert does not like a challenge when the player has lost possession of the ball, Hangeland can vouch for that. Will be interesting to see if Frimpong starts.
Had we appealed to Fergie we had more chances of getting the decision reversed!, FA is a joke the way the conduct themselves at all levels!
I know it shouldn't be relevant and every tackle should be judged independently but midfielders like him will often get judged too harshly, just as they will often get away with several fouls in the same game.
Agreed, I said before that as soon as he made the tackle I knew he was off, just because it's Sidwell and it looked bad in the instance. It's the way football is going. At least his ban wasn't extended. Perhaps Dench will start, he did well in his absence.
