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Arsenal to appeal length of Gabriel’s ban for dismissal v Chelsea

By on September 21, 2015

arsenal gabriel paulista

Arsenal are ready to appeal the length of Gabriel’s three-match ban following his dismissal against Chelsea on Saturday, and the Blues could inadvertently help us with our case.

Gabriel was sent off shortly before half-time after an altercation with Chelsea striker Diego Costa that first saw the pair booked before the Arsenal man was stupidly sent to the stands after a slight kick-out as the pair walked towards the half-way line.

The Evening Standard are now reporting that while Arsenal acknowledge Gabriel deserved his red card, they are set to appeal for the ban to be reduced from three games.

The newspaper says we will cite the cases involving Chelsea duo Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas from last season as examples to support our case.

Matic was sent off for a kick out at Burnley’s Ashley Barnes and the Blues had his ban reduced to two games after claiming the ‘level of force’ didn’t warrant a three-game suspension.

Chelsea also successfully had Fabregas’s ban reduced to just one game after he kicked a ball in the face of West Brom’s Chris Brunt.

Given that there was minimal contact or force from Gabriel’s kick towards Costa, Arsenal believe they have a strong case to see his ban also reduced.

The Standard say that the club also feel our appeal will be supported by the fact Gabriel was provoked by Costa in the lead-up to the incident.

I certainly feel a three-game ban would be harsh on Gabriel for the ‘kick’ as he barely touched Costa and of course the Spanish international was the main instigator in the whole thing.

We should find out today whether the FA have the balls to charge Costa for his antics at Stamford Bridge but I hope they see common sense in Gabriel’s situation if we do decide to appeal the length of the ban.