Cole and Knight loose appeals

Chelsea defender Ashley Cole and Aston Villa defender Zat Knight on Friday both lost their appeals for wrongful dismissals in the St. Stephen's Day encounter between their clubs.

27-year-old Ashley Cole was dismissed for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity in the final seconds of Wednesday's 4-4 Barclays Premier League draw at Stamford Bridge when he was adjudged to have handled the ball on the line.

Knight was sent off by referee Phil Dowd for a foul on Chelsea's Michael Ballack that saw a penalty awarded.

Both players will serve a one-match suspension with immediate effect, ruling them out of tomorrow's Barclays Premier League action.

Television replays appeared to cast doubt on whether Cole had used his arm to deflect Gabriel Agbonlahor's header away from the back of net, with referee Phil Dowd also awarding a penalty which earned Villa a point.

Cole insisted at the time the ball came off his head, but the FA have clearly decided this was not the case.

Chelsea manager Avram Grant said before the appeal was rejected: 'I will not go against the referee but I expect him and the assistant referee to be honest and say that they thought Ashley Cole saved the ball with his hand, which did not happen.

'They are human beings and can say they were wrong, even if it cost Chelsea points. If it was me, that is what I would say.'

Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill claimed the German international Michael Ballack dived to win the spot kick Knight conceded, but Ballack has protested his innocence.

Ballack said: 'For me there is no discussion about this.
'I had the ball and two guys, not just one, came and one pushed me. It was a clear penalty.'