Chelsea F.C

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Chelsea have no intention of allowing John Terry and Frank Lampard to slip through their grasp, according to chief executive Peter Kenyon.

Contract negotiations with the Blues captain and vice-captain stalled at the end of last season and it is understood the parties have yet to re-open talks.

However, Kenyon insists there is "no crisis" over the pair and that Chelsea have received no offers for either player.

"I can confirm we've had no offers and, if we have had offers, we wouldn't accept them," Kenyon said on England's Sky Sports News.

"They are a core part of our team."

Both players have two years remaining on their current deals and both want to be the top earners at Stamford Bridge.

Terry, 26, had been seeking a massive nine-year contract but it is understood has so far only be offered a five-year deal.

Lampard, 28, who has been linked with a move to Barcelona, is believed to have been offered five years.

Kenyon has also rejected suggestions owner Roman Abramovich has tightened the purse strings, having not spent a penny so far in the transfer market.

Summer signings Claudio Pizarro, Steve Sidwell and Tal Ben Haim were all free transfers - with PSV Eindhoven defender Alex expected to follow.

"It's not because there's no money," Kenyon said. "It's not because we chose to put a freeze on transfer money.

"It's about saying 'what have we got, what do we need?' "We've got three absolutely top players who are going to be joining us and making us stronger next season."

Kenyon believes Chelsea's long-term future could lie with homegrown players following the completion of the club's new training headquarters in Surrey.

The facilities in Cobham are described by the club as a "multi-million pound" investment from owner Roman Abramovich and is part of the plan for Chelsea to eventually become self-sustaining.

"We are very near the culmination of many years hard work to find and build a facility that is key to the future of the club and will be one of the leading centers in the world," Kenyon said. "Developing homegrown players is a vitally important goal for Chelsea. Cobham gives us the perfect platform for that.Our young players, academy and community coaches will be working closely with the first team, this is very much part of our club philosophy.

"To achieve this, Roman invested in the land, the infrastructure and the latest training, medical and other technology to give us the best chance of meeting those goals."

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English Premier League powerhouse Chelsea has appointed Avram Grant as director of football.

The former Israel boss will work closely with manager Jose Mourinho, as well as chief executive Peter Kenyon and Frank Arnesen, who oversees youth development.

Grant, who was technical director at fellow Premiership club Portsmouth, is reported to be a friend of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.

"Grant will be responsible for liaison on, and co-ordination of, football matters across the various areas of Chelsea," read a statement from the club.

"He will also sit on the football club board and report to chief executive Peter Kenyon."

Grant will travel with the squad this week for the preseason tour to Los Angeles as Chelsea starts its plans to win back the Barclays Premier League title from Manchester United.

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English Premier League giants Chelsea has agreed a fee with Lyon for the transfer of France midfielder Florent Malouda.

The player will have a physical in London on Monday.

"Chelsea can confirm it has agreed a fee with Olympique Lyonnais for the transfer of Florent Malouda," the club said in a statement.

The fee has not been disclosed, but Malouda has been valued at upwards of $26 million.

Chelsea has also appointed Avram Grant as director of football.

Grant, who was technical director at fellow Premier League club Portsmouth, will fly with the squad for its pre-season tour to Los Angeles on Monday.

Malouda will meet up with the team after the physical and when personal terms are agreed.

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Coach Jose Mourinho believes FA Cup holders Chelsea are in much better shape preparing for next season than they were this time last year.

The London club are on their fourth consecutive pre-season tour to the United States, and Mourinho is delighted he has a squad close to full strength with a strong work ethic.

"Last year was a disaster because we started the season with half of the team," Mourinho told a news conference at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Wednesday after introducing new signing, Israel defender Tal Ben Haim.

"And after that, every two to three days, some players arrived depending on their (national) team's performance at the World Cup.

"We had players who were out in last 16, out in the quarter-finals and then finally the Portuguese and the French guys because they had reached the semi-final stage. It was a complete disaster.

"This season we are starting with everybody. Only Pizarro is not here and Ballack with injury."

Striker Claudio Pizarro, who recently moved to Chelsea from Bayern Munich on a free transfer, has been given extra time off after playing in the Copa America for Peru.

German midfielder Michael Ballack is out of action with an unspecified foot injury.

WORKING HARD

"Everybody here is working very hard," added Mourinho, who has landed five major trophies in three seasons at Stamford Bridge: two league titles, two League Cups and the FA Cup.

"The motivation is there. Everyone is training like they play, almost, with their attitude, intensity, concentration and strength. The training is becoming very real."

Although Chelsea suffered a spate of injuries last season before losing their Premier League title to Manchester United, Mourinho said he preferred not to use that as an excuse.

"I think it had an influence at the beginning of the season when we played the Charity Shield and we were not ready," he said.

"We couldn't play a game against Liverpool, especially because Liverpool at that time was already playing a Champions League qualifier and they had been training for two months.

"To be fair, I don't think the injuries had a relation on the season because all of them were traumatic, not the kind of injury that sometimes happens, like muscular injuries, tendon injuries.

"I think it was a lot of bad luck that some of the boys had last season and I don't want to use it an excuse."

Chelsea play their first pre-season match against Mexico's Club America in the Disney Friendship Cup in Stanford, California on Saturday.

They then return to Los Angeles for the World Series of Football where they will take on the Suwon Bluewings on July 17 and the Los Angeles Galaxy on July 21.

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Jose Mourinho has warned Rafa Benitez that the pressure is on Liverpool to end their long wait for the Premiership title.

Liverpool have failed to mount a serious challenge for the Premiership since Benitez arrived in 2004 and it is now 17 years since the Reds were last kings of English football.

Benitez smashed Liverpool's transfer record to land Fernando Torres from Atletico Madrid for 26 million pounds and has also spent big on Ryan Babel and Yossi Benayoun as he tries to end that barren run.

But Mourinho believes the Spaniard's spending spree has made it essential that Liverpool are serious title contenders.

"It's been four years with Benitez and they want the Premiership," Mourinho said. "They don't hide it - Benitez, the players, they all speak about winning the title.

"In the last three years, it's been Chelsea and Manchester United in the league, and it's been a long time since Liverpool won the Premiership. So they really want it.

"I think winning nothing last season was frustrating for them, but they've got a good squad and good players, so they'll be better.

"You could say the pressure is a bit higher on Liverpool because, at this moment, they cannot point at other people.

"In other years, they could say: 'Oh, these guys, they've spent a lot of money so they have to win'. This season, they have to talk differently. They have high responsibilities and high expectations."

While Mourinho's decision to heap pressure on Liverpool probably reflects his fear that they will be much stronger this season, he also feels Tottenham could pose a serious threat to Chelsea's hopes of regaining the title.

"It's just a personal opinion," he said. "But they have more players in the England team's squad than anybody else. Paul Robinson, Ledley King, Michael Dawson, Aaron Lennon, Jermain Defoe, Darren Bent, they're a very good group of players.

"They've spent money and kept all the important players, even Dimitar Berbatov, who everyone thought would leave. And they will be without pressure, so they should be there, creating a difficult situation for us."

Despite the loss of Thierry Henry, Mourinho insists Arsenal will also be in the title shake-up.

"It is the same with Arsenal," he said. "There is no Thierry Henry, but they were almost without him last season, too, and they have very, very good young players who they can mix with their important experienced players.

"Not many people expect them to do it, and that could be in their favour. They will see what happens but I think, in the back of their minds, they will believe."

Manchester United's swoops for Owen Hargreaves, Anderson and Nani give the the champions a formidable look but Mourinho claims he wouldn't swap his players for anyone else's.

"They had money to spend, and they spent it," he said. "I know when Chelsea were spending lots of money everybody was jumping. I don't jump because other people spend. They can do what they want with their money.

"They are contenders for the title, of course, but I still believe Chelsea have the best players in the world."

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Chelsea face a nervous wait to see if Brazil defender Alex will be given a work permit after he was unable to link up with his new club.

Alex had flown into London to join Jose Mourinho's squad ahead of their friendly against Brondby, but he did not make it past immigration officials at Heathrow Airport due to a wrangle over his papers.

Although the 25-year-old could have entered the country he would not have been able to work and opted to return to Brazil while Chelsea try to rush through his permit application.

Alex has been on loan at Dutch side PSV Eindhoven for the last three seasons while Chelsea waited for him to make enough international appearance to be eligable for the permit.

British Home Office regulations state a player must have featured in 75 percent of their country's full internationals over two years, but Alex has played in less than 60 percent.

Despite the legal confusion, Chelsea remain confident Alex will be given the green light to move to Stamford Bridge.

The club statement said: "Alex was due to arrive into England on Sunday to discuss personal terms.

"Chelsea Football Club are in the process of applying for a work permit for the player in line with normal football and employment procedure.

"At airport immigration there was a request to clarify Alex's current status. All of the paperwork for his entry was in order.

"After an initial delay, he was cleared to enter the country. He chose voluntarily to fly back but will return when necessary."

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Germany captain Michael Ballack has pledged his future to Chelsea and is determined to make amends for a disappointing debut campaign in England.

Dismissing rumours linking him with Real Madrid on Monday, midfielder Ballack said: "I came here to win trophies and be successful in English football."

Ballack is just one of a number of top players with plenty to prove in the coming season. Reuters runs the rule over 10 other Premier League players who will fall under the spotlight as the 2007/08 campaign kicks off:

* Andriy Shevchenko (Chelsea)

The Ukraine striker arrived in London from AC Milan with a big reputation - and a salary to match - but did little to justify either, his three goals in 30 league outings (the last in November) hardly endearing him to manager Jose Mourinho.

The 30-year-old will be out to show he has learned from last term's lessons but sitting out the Community Shield with a back injury was not the best start.

* Fernando Torres (Liverpool)

Embarks on his Premier League career carrying the twin tags of Liverpool's record 36.0 million euros ($49.78 million) signing and the most expensive Spanish player ever. Rafael Benitez is looking to the former Atletico Madrid striker to spearhead a long-overdue challenge for the title but whether Torres can transfer his undoubted quality onto the English stage -- and with the required consistency -- could be telling both for Liverpool's prospects and Benitez's reputation.

* Craig Bellamy (West Ham United)

It says everything about Bellamy that the defining moment of his Liverpool career was not a goal in the Champions League win at Barcelona but rather a drunken altercation with John Arne Riise several nights earlier. The Welshman -- who stayed just a season at both Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers -- has promised West Ham will "see the best of me" but whether he can stick around long enough to fulfil that pledge remains to be seen.

* Nigel Reo-Coker (Aston Villa)

Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill will hope to see the dynamic box-to-box midfielder who shone in West Ham's run to the 2006 FA Cup final, rather than the Reo-Coker whose form dipped last term amid accusations from some Hammers fans of an over-inflated ego. Villa's new boy impressed his boss in the friendly win over Inter Milan but he must now do it week in, week out.

* Darren Bent (Tottenham Hotspur)

Eyebrows were raised when Tottenham Hotspur spent 16.5 million pounds on Charlton Athletic striker Darren Bent. Yet there is no doubting Bent's ability -- 31 goals in the last two Premier League seasons -- and his transfer is a bold statement of intent from both a club aiming to break into the top four and a player keen to establish himself in the England squad.

* Jason Koumas (Wigan Athletic)

Wales playmaker Koumas made little impact on the Premier League with West Bromwich Albion in 2004/05, yet a loan spell at Cardiff City restored his confidence and he shone as West Brom went close to promotion last season. Now Koumas has a second chance in the top flight with Wigan. Manager Chris Hutchings was willing to take a gamble on the 27-year-old whose success at the JJB Stadium will go a long way to determining whether Wigan survive. * David Healy (Fulham)

Healy's goalscoring exploits for Northern Ireland contrast markedly with his club career. He scored nine times in six Euro 2008 qualifers yet managed just one goal more in an entire season of second-division football for relegated Leeds United. It will be intriguing to see if his former Northern Irish boss Lawrie Sanchez can get the best out of him once more at Fulham.

* Michael Chopra (Sunderland)

Ssome Sunderland supporters were less than enthused by the 5.0 million pounds signing of Michael Chopra, the forward having scored just once in four years for bitter rivals Newcastle United. However, after netting 22 times for Cardiff last term, manager Roy Keane is hoping the 23-year-old can finally blossom in the big league.

* Joey Barton (Newcastle United)

Barton's footballing ability is matched, unfortunately, by his capacity to cause trouble. Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce is famed for his handling of difficult personalities but the midfielder's hopes of a fresh start have already been undermined by a metatarsal injury and an impending date in court to answer charges of an alleged assault on former Manchester City team-mate Ousmane Dabo.

* Eduardo Da Silva (Arsenal)

Filling Thierry Henry's boots is the task facing Croatia striker Eduardo Da Silva. Manager Arsene Wenger turned to the 24-year-old Brazilian-born attacker to replace Henry and a winning goal against Lazio on his first appearance after receiving a work permit was not a bad start. He has an impressive scoring record -- seven in 12 for Croatia and 34 in 32 for Dinamo Zagreb last season - but he may need time to adjust tothe demands of the Premier League.

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Chelsea's hopes of a strong start to the Premier League season could be undermined by a catalogue of injuries.

Coach Jose Mourinho had so few senior players available for an open training session in front of 3,000 supporters at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday that the club issued an apology on their Web site.

Media reports on Wednesday estimated more than a dozen first-team squad members were having treatment.

Chelsea, beaten on penalties by Manchester United in Sunday's Community Shield, open their league campaign at home to Birmingham City on Sunday.

The long injury list revives memories of the problems which seriously affected Chelsea's title challenge last season.

Captain John Terry is sidelined for a month with a knee ligament problem while Michael Ballack and Wayne Bridge are due back in one month and 10 weeks respectively after having ankle and hip operations.

QUESTION MARKS

Didier Drogba (knee), Arjen Robben (knee), Salomon Kalou (thigh), Glen Johnson (calf), Andriy Shevchenko (back), Claude Makelele (knee) and Paulo Ferreira (thigh) may also miss the Birmingham game and there are question marks over three more players.

Winger Florent Malouda, who made a goal-scoring debut in the Community Shield, received a dead leg against United.

Goalkeeper Petr Cech is nursing a hand injury while left back Ashley Cole has a thigh problem.

Even Frank Lampard, who is filling in as captain in Terry's absence, has been playing with a broken toe.

Mourinho told Chelsea TV this week "we need rotation" but was surely not expecting to have to test the depth of his resources so early in the season.

He will hope new signings like midfielder Steve Sidwell and defender Tal Ben Haim can show their worth immediately.

"We have a big enough squad now," Sidwell told the Guardian newspaper.

"This is a chance for some of the new faces. It opens up doors and opportunities."

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Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho insists he's not prepared to break the bank to sign Brazilian international Daniel Alves from Spanish side Sevilla.

Alves is considered one of the top right-backs in Europe, with Mourinho having problems in that position last season.

But the Portuguese coach said he would only move for the Brazilian if the price is right.

"The only thing I know is that we want to make our squad even better," said Mourinho.

"Right-back is a position we feel we can improve but to improve is not easy, you have to go for a good player and Alves is a good player.

"What's the offer? To be fair I don't know. What Sevilla demand I know even less. I think in the same line as Chelsea have done things in the past, we will make an offer, a balanced offer and not a stupid offer.

"If they accept we will try to get the player, if they don't accept then they don't accept."

Sevilla president Jose Maria del Nido revealed Friday they have turned down two offers of over 30 million euros (41m dollars) for the player without giving details.

Meanwhile, Chelsea confirmed the arrival of Brazil defender Alex from PSV Eindhoven on a three-year contract.

Alex told Chelsea TV: "I hope to adapt myself very quickly because (Ricardo) Carvalho and Mourinho will help me with the language barrier, and I hope I can start straight away and won't have any problem to be on the team."

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Premier League giants Chelsea confirmed on Wednesday its interest in Sevilla defender Daniel Alves.

The Blues insist no agreement has been reached over a transfer.

Reports in Spain suggested Alves was on the brink of completing a move and that the clubs had reached an agreement over his $49 million switch to Stamford Bridge.

Alves, who is keen to complete the move to the Blues, was left out of Sevilla's Champions League squad for Wednesday night's qualifier against AEK Athens.

The decision to omit the 24-year-old fuelled rumors of an impending move to the London club, but a Chelsea statement countered the Spanish reports.

"Contrary to reports from Spain, Chelsea has not reached an agreement for the transfer of Daniel Alves from Sevilla. Chelsea has confirmed its interest in the player to the club but as yet there is no agreement," said a club statement.

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Chelsea has completed the signing of Barcelona right-back Juliano Belletti.

The 31-year-old Brazilian has passed a physical and will now move to Stamford Bridge.

The signing ends Chelsea's interest in Sevilla's right-back Daniel Alves and comes less than 24 hours after Chelsea agreed to sell Dutch winger Arjen Robben to Real Madrid.

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Factbox on Avram Grant of Israel who took charge of Chelsea's first team alongside Steve Clarke after Jose Mourinho left the English Premier League club by mutual consent on Thursday.

Born: May 6 1955, in Petah Tikva, Israel

* After a promising career as a young coach with his home club Hapoel Petah Tikva in the 1970s and early '80s, Grant was earmarked for bigger things with Israel's major clubs. He coached Maccabi Tel Aviv twice (1991-95 and 1997-2000) and Maccabi Haifa (2000-2002) with whom he won league and cup titles.


* Appointed Israel's national team coach in May 2002 after the resignation of Dane Richard Moeller Nielsen, a position he held until his departure in 2006. Following a disappointing Euro 2004, Israel just missed a playoff spot for the 2006 World Cup finals, finishing unbeaten in a group behind France and Switzerland.

* Befriended Roman Abramovich during meetings in Tel Aviv in the spring of 2006 when he was expected to take up the role of coach of Hapoel Tel Aviv, which was designated to become a feeder club for Chelsea. The deal by Abramovich's friend Levi Leviev to buy Hapoel fell through, however, and Grant moved to England.

* Appointed technical director of Portsmouth in July 2006, the club partly owned by Alexandre Gaydamak, the son of Russian-born billionaire Arkady Gaydamak, the high-profile owner of Israeli league champions Beitar Jerusalem.

* Left Portsmouth to take up the position of director of football at Chelsea, where he became reportedly the closest confidant on football matters with Abramovich.

* Took charge of Chelsea's first team alongside Steve Clarke, replacing Jose Mourinho.

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Israeli Avram Grant has been appointed Chelsea's new coach on a permanent basis although he has not yet signed a contract.

"The appointment is permanent," chief executive Peter Kenyon told a news conference on Friday.

Grant, 52, replacing Jose Mourinho who left the club on Thursday, said: "Everything has happened very quickly in the last 48 hours but I am happy to be here.

"I am my own man and I would not have taken the job if I did not think I could do it."

Assistant coach Steve Clarke will continue in his role but Grant will bring in a new backroom staff after Mourinho's four Portuguese colleagues also left on Thursday.

Referring to Mourinho, the self-styled 'special one', Grant said: "I am not a special one, I am a normal person".

Grant, Kenyon and chairman Bruce Buck faced a more gruelling interrogation from the media than is normal on these occasions and the new coach was quick to play down his relationship with Chelsea's billionaire Russian owner Roman Abramovich.

"I did not get the job because I am a friend of Roman Abramovich," he said.

"I have a normal relationship with him. I don't want to talk about being family friends. We have a football relationship."

He also said he did not foresee a problem with Abramovich meddling in team affairs.

"I will take all the decisions in football on my own. He did not try and meddle in the past and will not in the future," said Grant.

Asked what his message was to the fans, many of whom are angry at Mourinho's departure, Grant said: "It touched my heart how they reacted when Jose left and my job is to make them happy.

"But the supporters were here before Jose came and they will be here after I have gone."

NO BUST-UP

Kenyon dismissed suggestions there had been a major bust-up between Mourinho and his players or Mourinho and the board.

"The reality is the last six or nine months have been difficult for everyone (at the club)," he said.

Kenyon added the recent defeat by Aston Villa, last Saturday's home draw with Blackburn Rovers and Tuesday's home draw with Rosenborg Trondheim in the Champions League were not the catalysts for his departure.

"There was no single catalyst. No bust-ups. But we reached the point in the last few days that it was right for him and right for the club to mutually part company," said Kenyon.

He also denied Mourinho was not involved in the purchase of Andriy Shevchenko from AC Milan last year, saying the owner, the board and the manager all agreed on the deal.

Kenyon said Grant was the right man to take Chelsea forward.

"Chelsea is a different club at a different level than it was (when Mourinho took over three years ago)," he said.

"I don't fear an exodus of our star players either. They have all pledged their full support to Avram."

Asked whether Chelsea had taken a backward step in appointing a man with no direct coaching experience outside Israel, Buck said: "We don't believe it's a backward step, we believe it's a step forward".

Buck would not say whether Mourinho's severance package precluded the Portuguese coaching a rival Premier League team.

Grant will not take training on Saturday, the day before Chelsea play Manchester United at Old Trafford, as it is Yom Kippur, the most holy day in the Jewish calendar.

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Chelsea have been forced to deny reports that they have offered Marco Van Basten the chance to become the long-term successor to Jose Mourinho.

Director of Football Avram Grant was put in charge of the first team last week after Mourinho's shock's departure.

But the club have refused to clarify the terms on which the Israeli has stepped into the manager's chair, fuelling speculation that he is only a stop-gap appointment until Roman Abramovich can find a big-name replacement for Mourinho.

A report in Wednesday's edition of The Sun claimed that Chelsea's Russian owner had already offered the job to Van Basten, who sat behind Abramovich in the VIP seats as Chelsea were beaten 2-0 by Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.

The paper claimed contact between the two had been established through Frank Arnesen, the Dutch head of Chelsea's youth and scouting operation, and cited former Juventus, AC Milan and Real Madrid boss Fabio Capello as their source.

Capello, himself seen as another potential replacement for Mourinho, reportedly said: "Arnesen wants Van Basten to take over and has already recommended Marco to Abramovich.

"Frank and Marco know each other well from their time in Dutch football."

Chelsea however denied that anyone other than Grant had been offered the manager's job.

"No one at Chelsea FC has been authorised to speak to any individual about the post, either by the board or the owner," the club said in a statement.

Chelsea's protestations are unlikely to stem speculation about Van Basten, partly because, on paper, he would be an ideal appointment.

His status as one of the world's greatest players would appease fans angered by Mourinho's exit while his record as the Dutch national coach suggests he could deliver the entertaining, attacking football that Abramovich is said to crave.

Van Basten is bound to be tempted by the offer but there must be a doubt as to whether he would be willing to quit his country just as they are coming to the end of their qualifying campaign for Euro 2008.

The reports linking Chelsea with Van Basten can however only serve to further undermine the position of Grant, whose cause has not been helped by Sunday's defeat and rumours that some of the club's biggest names want to follow Mourinho out of Stamford Bridge.

Grant's appointment was made so hastily last week that the 52-year-old has not even had time to replace the backroom staff who left with Mourinho, a task he hopes to have completed inside three weeks.

"We are looking in England and abroad," he revealed ahead of Wednesday's League Cup trip to Hull City.

"We need a fitness and a goalkeeping coach. We are using people from the academy at the moment and they are doing a very good job."

Grant also insisted that he had the backing of the Chelsea dressing room.

"They speak with me very well," he said. "The injured players are trying to get back sooner than expected. If I can judge through their actions, then everything is okay."

Grant added: "Coaches come and go. Not all of them stay like Sir Alex Ferguson. I respect Jose very much. But I don't have any doubt about their loyalty to the club."

Despite insisting that he had enjoyed a good relationship with Mourinho, Grant could not resist a veiled swipe at his predecessor by claiming he had inherited a team with problems.

"This season we didn't play so well except one game that was fantastic against Birmingham and twenty minutes against Reading," Grant said.

"We didn't play well, we didn't score enough goals. We need many things to improve and in a short time."

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The English FA has charged Chelsea with failing to control their players during Sunday's 2-0 Premier League defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford.

The FA said in a statement on Thursday that the charges related to the conduct of the players towards referee Mike Dean following the red card shown to midfielder John Obi Mikel after 32 minutes for his lunge on United defender Patrice Evra.


In the statement the FA also named Chelsea assistant coach Steve Clarke and charged him with "using abusive and/or insulting words towards the match officials after the end of the match".

Chelsea and Clarke have until Oct. 12 to respond to the charges.

Chelsea said on their Web site (www.chelseafc.com) that they will defend themselves against the charges.

"Chelsea Football Club will be strongly defending the two charges issued by the Football Association today and will be considering that defence until we have to respond on Oct. 12," the club said in a statement.

Referee Dean reported Chelsea after at least four players surrounded him when he sent off Mikel for the clumsy tackle on Frenchman Evra.

On Tuesday, Mikel lost an appeal against the sending off, and did not play in Wednesday's 4-0 League Cup victory at Championship (second division) side Hull City. He will be suspended for two more matches.