Source: Eurosport
Liverpool lose Degen appeal
Liverpool's manpower crisis has got worse after they lost their appeal over full-back Philipp Degen's red card in Saturday's defeat at Fulham. [LNB] Injury-hit Liverpool had both Swiss defender Degen, and stand-in skipper Jamie Carragher sent off in the second-half of the match at Craven Cottage which they lost 3-1. Liverpool appealed against both decisions and now await the FA's deliberations over Carragher's foul on Bobby Zamora that saw him red-carded. [LNB] "At a Regulatory Commission hearing, a claim for wrongful dismissal by Liverpool defender Philipp Degen was rejected," read an FA statement.[LNB] "Degen was sent off for serious foul play during Liverpool's Premier League match with Fulham on Saturday 31 October. Degen's three-match suspension begins with immediate effect." [LNB] Degen will now be unavailable for the Premier League games at home to Birmingham and Manchester City, plus the Merseyside derby clash at Everton on November 29. [LNB] With fellow full-back Glen Johnson's calf injury forcing him out of Wednesday's Champions League Group E clash in Lyon, Degen - who is not registered for Europe - could have found himself getting an extended run in boss Rafael Benitez's first-team. [LNB] Liverpool felt that Degen's foul on Clint Dempsey merited only a yellow card, but the FA do not agree. [LNB] If Johnson does recover in time for Monday's game with Birmingham, Degen will probably find himself completing the ban in reserve football.
