West Ham have confirmed they are seeking “legal redress” over the decision not to overturn Andy Carroll’s three-match ban for a red card received against Swansea City, with their co-owner David Gold claiming the club have no other option.
Carroll, who will miss tomorrow’s Premier League match against Aston Villa and fixtures against Norwich City and Southampton, was sent off by Howard Webb for violent conduct after an incident involving Swansea’s Chico Flores. An independent commission threw out the striker’s appeal against the suspension on Tuesday.
West Ham are understood to have written a letter to the Football Association with their grievances and Gold admitted that they would be taking legal action, which if pursued could potentially result in a challenge through the court of arbitration for sport.
The FA remains confident that the correct procedures were applied.
“There is nowhere to go other than to seek some kind of legal redress. It’s not ideal . . . but we are fighting for our lives . . . you have every commentator and 80 per cent of the media saying it wasn’t a sending-off,” said Gold. “Yet Howard Webb reviews the situation afterwards and says he stands by his judgment and when it goes to appeal and three guys stand by Howard Webb you feel, ‘how can this be right.’ ”
Flores, who was caught by Carroll’s flailing arm during West Ham’s 2-0 win, took to Twitter to criticise the Hammers’ style of play, claiming there was “aggression” in the challenge.
“You can see the impact he has on our club,” said Gold. “I feel sorry for him as well, he was absolutely mortified. He was shrugging the guy off; okay, he has messed his hair up but I don’t think you should get sent off for messing somebody’s hair up.”
The possibility of taking the matter to the high court has been suggested, although all Premier League clubs agreed on the disciplinary appeal process at the beginning of the campaign.
"Most judgments are not made by three people, they are made by 12. That's why they are called juries," said Gold.
Guardian Service
