The Premier League turned down Arsenal’s appeal against Thomas Vermaelen’s sending off against West Ham. Vermaelen will now  miss Saturday’s trip to Birmingham.

The Football Association heard the claim for wrongful dismissal but decided that referee Martin Atkinson had made the correct call when he judged that Vermaelen’s foul on Guillermo Franco had prevented a goalscoring opportunity.

A statement released by the FA read:

“At a Regulatory Commission hearing today, a claim for wrongful dismissal from Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen was dismissed. Vermaelen was shown a red card for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity during Arsenal’s match against West Ham United on Saturday 20 March. He will now serve a one match suspension with immediate effect.”  Read more... (133 words, 2 images, estimated 32 secs reading time)