Tiote Appeal Turned Down

Newcastle United midfielder Cheik Tiote has had his appeal to overturn a red card rejected by the FA. Tiote who was sent off on a straight red against Stevenage at the weekend in the FA Cup will now begin his three match ban, missing the Tyne-Wear derby, Tottenham and Fulham.

The FA released the following statement;

"At a Regulatory Commission hearing today, a claim for wrongful dismissal from Newcastle United midfielder Cheik Tiote was rejected. As a result, Tiote's three-match suspension will remain in place."

Tiote, who will not be punished further for making a frivolous appeal said after the game;

"For my red card, I didn't think I touched the player, only the ball. Maybe the referee made a mistake, because I didn't touch the player.

I took the ball - I didn't touch the player - and I don't know why he gave me a red card, but this is football."

Alan Pardew said;

"The referee got it wrong. He [Tiote] was fast. He travelled across the ground. He was aggressive in the challenge but in no way was he intending to hurt the player.

The ball was going away from the player. I was astonished by that."

The 24 year old will have to get used to sitting in the stands, having picked up 8 yellow cards this season so far, another two will see him miss a further two games through suspension.