CHELSEA HAVE expressed their frustration after an English Football Association regulatory commission rejected Branislav Ivanovic’s appeal against a violent conduct charge.
The Serbian defender will miss Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur and the London derbies against Arsenal and Queens Park Rangers.
Television footage showed Ivanovic appearing to strike the Wigan Athletic forward Shaun Maloney in the midriff during last Saturday’s league match at Stamford Bridge. The incident was missed by referee Mike Jones, allowing the FA to take retrospective action.
While Ivanovic (28) acknowledged there had been clumsy contact, he had insisted his action should not be deemed violent, with Chelsea reflecting their dismay after his appeal was dismissed.
“Chelsea Football Club is disappointed that the commission found Branislav Ivanovic guilty,” noted a statement. “We note that the FA did not deem our appeal ‘frivolous’ and it therefore had merit.”
Chelsea hope to have Ashley Cole fit to feature against Spurs and, potentially, Barcelona in the Champions League next Wednesday. The left-back had been suffering from ankle problems. John Terry remains a doubt with two fractured ribs.
Liverpool have also failed in their appeal against the red card issued to the goalkeeper Doni in Tuesday’s victory at Blackburn Rovers. The Merseyside club had cited wrongful dismissal after Doni was dismissed for denying a goalscoring opportunity, but he will miss out on Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Everton.
Brad Jones, whose appearance as a substitute was his first since December 2010, will start.
Meanwhile, former Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka (33) has become Shanghai Shenhua’s player-manager. He confirmed the news on Twitter yesterday afternoon, having joined the big-spending Chinese Super League club on a two-year contract in December.
He wrote on his official Twitter feed @anelkaofficiel: “It’s official I just become (sic) the new player-manager of Shanghai Shenhua.”
Shanghai are 11th in the 16-team top flight.
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