Arsenal's Giles Grimandi could face yet another long European suspension if UEFA decide to examine video evidence of his clash with Lazio's Diego Simeone during last night's Champions League tie. The Argentinian has accused the Frenchman of elbowing him in the face, leaving him with a cut that required six stitches. Grimandi served a three-match European ban last season after an elbow incident involving Barcelona's Josep Guardiola and also served a one-match ban imposed by the FA this season after he was caught on video stamping on Gary McAllister's hand in a Premiership game.
However, Grimandi insists he caught Simeone with the flat of his hand accidentally and that he never intended to injure the Lazio player. He also maintains that he was hit several times during the match and that there were a lot of physical things going on.
Meanwhile, several of Arsenal's players were on the end of torrid racial abuse from the home crowd but more upsetting was that some of the Lazio players got involved. Midfielder Patrick Vieria revealed that defender Sinisa Mihajlovic called him a monkey. But it wasn't all bad for Arsenal. Their 1-1 draw against Lazio last night means they are through to the second phase of the Champions League with 10 points in Group D.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
