Gunners appeal Giroud dismissal

Arsenal have appealed against the red card shown to Olivier Giroud during Saturday's 1-0 Barclays Premier League victory over Fulham.French striker Giroud was dismissed by referee Andre Marriner in the 90th minute of the London derby at Craven Cottage for jumping into a challenge with Stanislav Manolev."We have lodged an appeal to the Football Association for the wrongful dismissal of Olivier Giroud against Fulham," read a statement on the club's official website. "An FA regulatory commission will hear the claim and make a verdict on Tuesday afternoon."If the appeal is unsuccessful, Giroud will receive a three-match ban for the straight red card.Replays showed the £13million summer signing from Montpellier, who has scored 17 goals for Arsenal, made contact with the ball during the tackle.Arsene Wenger hinted after a win that lifted the Gunners to third in the table that an appeal would be made."Giroud told me he did slip and went a bit over the ball," the Arsenal boss said"Knowing that Steve Sidwell had been sent off, when the referee went to see him, we knew it would be a red card."We will have to deal with that now because he will miss three games and that is not easy for us to cope with."Nobody would say Giroud is a dirty player, it is purely accidental, but sometimes accidental can be dangerous."

Source: PA