Arsenal's appeal against Max Dowman's red card in their Carabao Cup defeat at Fleetwood and the resulting three-match suspension has been rejected by an independent commission.
The 16-year-old was sent off for kicking out at Harrison Neal following a bruising tackle in the 85th minute of the match, which Fleetwood won on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Arsenal lodged an appeal, but the Football Association confirmed on Thursday that the commission had dismissed claims of both wrongful dismissal and excessive punishment.
Ban Keeps Dowman Out of Key Matches
As a result, Dowman will be suspended for Sunday's Premier League trip to Liverpool, as well as the home game with Hull and the trip to Newcastle either side of the international break. The FA said the written reasons for the commission's decision would be published in due course.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said after Tuesday's match he had not spoken to Dowman about his dismissal, but added: "When we prepared the context of the match, we were very clear on the things to respect, the things that emotionally we have to dominate, it was very clear."
Fleetwood's Historic Upset
After Fleetwood's goalkeeper, Jay Lynch, saved Bruno Guimarães' penalty, 19-year-old defender Conor Haughey stepped up to fire the hosts into the quarter-finals with one of the biggest upsets in the competition's history. Fleetwood will host another Premier League giant, either Everton or Newcastle, in the last eight.
Arsenal fell behind to Aaron Loupalo-Bi's 21st-minute strike in a disjointed first-half performance after Arteta made nine changes. Captain Martin Ødegaard came on at half-time and Viktor Gyökeres quickly levelled, but Dowman was dismissed before Lynch starred in the shootout to secure a memorable victory.
