Optimistic Chelsea appeal

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE NEWSCHELSEA ARE optimistic that the red card and three-game suspension Frank Lampard picked up at West Ham United on Saturday will be rescinded at a meeting of an English FA Regulatory Commission today after the referee, Peter Walton, privately admitted to making an error in sending off the midfielder.

Lampard was dismissed after grappling with Luis Boa Morte just after the half-hour mark, with Walton taking advice from his assistant before showing the 29-year-old the second red card of his career.

The dismissal was for violent conduct, with the referee allegedly telling Chelsea players at the time that Lampard had slapped his opponent in the face. TV replays of the incident suggest he actually pushed the Portuguese in the chest.

Chelsea submitted a formal appeal yesterday, their dossier including a DVD of footage of the clash and written submissions from player and club, with an FA spokesman confirming they have to prove the referee made "a serious and obvious error" when they attend the four-man commission today.

However, it is understood Walton has written to Soho Square admitting he made an error and, while that evidence is not conclusive, it will carry significant weight when it is put to the panel. The sending-off cannot be downgraded to yellow - it will remain on Lampard's record regardless of whether it is rescinded - leaving the commission with a simple choice to make.

Chelsea will argue that the push on Boa Morte was not to the player's face or head, as replays suggest, and therefore does not constitute violent conduct in the hope that their approach goes the way of Lee Bowyer's successful appeal against his dismissal against Birmingham earlier this season, rather than failed recent attempts by the likes of Jeremie Aliadiere, Robbie Keane, Michael Essien and Ashley Cole.

A positive decision would provide Chelsea with a boost for tomorrow's Champions League tie against Olympiakos, although he is free to play in it whatever today's outcome. The 4-0 rout of West Ham had restored confidence damaged by the League Cup final defeat, but momentum must now be maintained.

"The West Ham win was very important for us," said Michael Ballack, whose sumptuous goal capped a spell of three in five minutes midway through the first half. "We've shown again that we are a good team. We hadn't performed (in the final), but we showed against West Ham that we have good character in the team."

The squad had indulged in an afternoon of paint-balling last week as part of a team-bonding exercise organised by the captain John Terry.

"Now we have two big games in front of us (against Olympiakos and at Barnsley in the FA Cup) and I hope we can keep going with this performance on Wednesday and on Saturday," added Ballack.