Thetownend.com

http://www.thisisswindontownfc.co.uk/news/headlines/4679208.Town_to_appeal_Douglas_red_card/

Glad we are challenging the Ref's poor decision.  Douglas clearly went in with a one fotted challenge.  I think Millwall's No 26 had a big influence of his sending off.

Hopefully video evidence will now clear Douglas of anything more than a yellow card.

only saw it last night but ferry's tackle looked far worse to me.

douglas' tackle didn't even warrant a yellow imo

Douglas's tackle wasn't even a foul.

Harris's tackle on the other hand... :-[

i went from thinking it was a red at the time,to a debatable free kick after seeing the tv footage.
i think he'll get off and rightly so.

Fucking hope so, bar Greer, i can't think of any player i'd less like to see out for 3 games while on this run.

It will be truely shocking if the red card stands.

At first I thought it was a late tackle. After watching the replays I think its a bloody good tackle and he clearly takes the ball.

I'll be amazed if it gets repealed, the appeals system is a joke.

Official text - our appeal was rejected and ban upgraded to 4 games!

I thought the Millwall player flicked the ball away before Douglas tackled him.


It's worrying who will play instead as we don't really have anyone similar. I really don't like the idea of Ferry and Timlin, the opposition will just blow them out of the way. I wonder if we could play three in the centre of defence or maybe one of Greer, Morrison, Cuthbert moving up to play in a defensive midfield role.

I hope this is a joke!


Nope, Douglas gets the ball then goes through the man. I dont even think it was a foul.

I looked at it a million times and I'm convinced Douglas doesn't get the ball. But then it didn't look like a two footed tackle and his feet were pointing down and touched the pitch before the man, so no way I can see it as being reckless.

No joke I'm afraid.

Text in full:

"Swindon Town Football Club have failed in the appeal to overturn Jonathan Douglas' red card, with the midfielder now set to miss four games."

On official site aswel.

Absolute joke.

The appeals system is a joke. There have been a number of appeals in the Premier League against blatant red cards yet there was no increase in the ban. They might have felt the Douglas tackle was a red but there is a massive question over it so no way was the appeal taking the piss.

QED.

So is that the FA cup first round he'll miss as well then?

no idea, although the less league games he misses the better in my opinion.

He misses Hartlepool (h), Norwich (a), Tranmere (a) and FA Cup 1st round.

To be honest with the number of mistakes being made by refs at the moment like the City v Palace game, they were never going to overturn it as it would just add to the long list of big mistakes made by useless officials. Why let justice get in the way of the league protecting referees (and linesmen) that aren't up to the job.  
I doubt they even bothered to review the incident and just read the paperwork and slapped an extra game on the ban.

How the fuck could it be rejected so quickly?

Yep he'll now miss Hartlepool Home, Tranmere Away, Norwich JPT & FA Cup 1st round

Absolute joke of a decision if you ask me. Just goes to show you the FA only seem to make an example of the smaller clubs.  Bet if we were Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool etc he would have been cleared.

On another note if Millwall fans want to lynch Manks on the visit to The New Den i reckon we should start our own for Jimmy Abpoo  :D

what the fuck

Thats fucking abysmal.

Shocking.

Like glos_robin said, I bet they didn't even view the video evidence - just re-read the ref's report and did away with it.

Not seen the incident, but it is a poor decision to upgrade it from 3 matches to 4 when it is his first red card or ban of the season

I don't think past form has got anything to do with it. If they think you're taking the piss with the appeal and wasting their time then they increase the ban - its meant to be a deterrent to making dodgy appeals.

As per Nemo, not in the least surprised, could have told you this on Saturday straight after the game:

But we wernt taking the piss- it was a genuine appeal.

Would like to see Easton back- do not rate Timlin at all

i agree bart, timlin has under performed.

What an absolutely fucking scandalous load of bollocks. I'm fucking seething. Can we email someone? Not find out why (it'd be like cracking a joke around the personality vacuum that is the modern pig/cop) because a bit of email bombing wouldn't be a bad idea.

you could forgive the ref for getting it wrong,but an extra match ban when the video clealry proves his innocence is a joke

I haven't seen the evidence, but I find it so obtuse that the decision was made so quickly. There is no way that the appeal could have been properly looked into and considered.

You've changed your tune ;)

i did immediately after seeing it on tv(saturday)and posted straight away that i'd got it wrong.

the referee was the joke at that game but the joke of the day is the fa and the disipliney people

At the time I wasn't even sure the ref was going to book him for it, let alone send him off. Not until half the Millwall team got involved anyway. A four-game ban is completely disproportionate and makes the FA look like the useless bunch of cunts they are.

it certainly doesn't breed faith does it?

What utter shite.

"If the Commission’s decision is to reject the claim, it will, in every case, go on to
consider whether or not the player’s punishment should be increased.

If the Commission considers that the rejected claim had no prospect of success
and / or amounts to an abuse of process, the Commission shall have the
discretion to increase the penalty up to twice the standard punishment set out in
this Memorandum."

An abuse of process? This is a process that STFC have had to pay an administration fee of £500 for - so the fact that it was declined means we're out of pocket already - but a further ban for having the audacity to question their decision? Wankers!

The football league is full of shit........

What a bunch of wankers. Loads of teams have appealed red cards and had their players bans waved or reduced. But no we can't do it can we? Fair enough if they feel it was a red. Just tell us we've lost the appeal but to come out with the crap just goes to show how cuntish the FL are. I'm guessing they haven't got any teams they can deduct points from at the moment so they've decided to turn to this in their boredom.

My worry now is that we're gonna end up with Timlin in the team. The blokes a liability.

That should be...

The Football Association is full of shit....

As their disciplinary panel decides on all punishments.

And the club will be demoted by 2 divisions

outrageous decision.
I'm more than a little angry

The whole debacle on Saturday with this, and Amankwaah has left a very bad taste.

I'm shocked. All video evidence points to some shoddy decision making by the ref, yet not only do they uphold this ridiculous punishment, but extend it further. I'm astonished.

The only good news...he will be back v Leeds.

I said at the time we should take our punishment as they always increase it if it is not overturned and unless it is mistaken identity then it is very rarely turned over. 4 games without Douglas does not bare thinking about.

it was ONE footed and the ref was quoted as referring to a TWO footed tackle afterwards

Dougie's foot was on the ground. 

not sure whether Douglas got to the ball first or whether the Milwall player flicked it away just before - IF it was late at all, it was very marginal. 


Yellow max - can't see how a red could have been awarded except by a mistake by the ref.

in effect the Milwall no 26 and his friends sent Dougie off and the FA reckons a further punishment is required for appealing.

yeah, sure

Isnt Pedo Bates on these kind of panels?

We were never going to win the appeal, clubs rarely do - whether that's right or wrong is up for debate... We've lost Douglas for another game which is a bit foolish.

Good news for Timlin and Easton though.

Good job the game isn't a league one though and now someone else has to stand up and be counted - better for that to happen when we have some confidence than in a bad run I suppose.

It's not the fact we lost the appeal that pisses me off though. It's the fact that we supposidly "abused" the process. Total joke.

This would be an ideal time for Pook to step up to the plate ;)

(If he was still here)

Something else that annoys me - Richard Keogh's attempt to end Wes Hoolahan's career at the end of Carlisle v Norwich on Saturday was far worse than what either Douglas or Frampton did.  However because the referee saw it and chose to book him, there's nothing the FA will do about it.  As a result, it's worth one fifth of a one match ban whilst Douglas sits out the next month.