Arsenal today appealed against France striker
Olivier Giroud’s dismissal during Saturday’s 1-0 win against Fulham.
Giroud was sent off by referee Andre Marriner in the 90th
minute at Craven Cottage after lunging into a challenge on Fulham’s Stanislav
Manolev.
The former Montpellier star faces a three-match ban, which
would be a significant blow to Arsenal’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions
League, so the Gunners have opted to appeal.
“We have lodged an appeal to the Football Association for
the wrongful dismissal of Olivier Giroud against Fulham,” read a statement on
Arsenal’s official website.
“An FA regulatory commission will hear the claim and make a
verdict on Tuesday afternoon.”
Replays showed that Giroud, who has scored 17 goals for
Arsenal this season, made contact with the ball during the tackle.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger hinted after the win, which
lifted the Gunners to third in the Premier League, that an appeal would be
made.
“Giroud told me he did slip and went a bit over the ball,”
Wenger said. “Knowing that Steve Sidwell had been sent off, when the
referee went to see him, we knew it would be a red card.''
“We will have to deal with that now because he will miss
three games and that is not easy for us to cope with.
“Nobody would say Giroud is a dirty player, it is purely
accidental, but sometimes accidental can be dangerous.
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