West Ham have informed the Football Association that they will appeal the red card awarded to Sofiane Feghouli during the defeat to Manchester United.
The Algerian winger was dismissed after just 14 minutes of his first Premier League start after a coming-together with defender Phil Jones that left the England defender writhing in pain.
However, replays showed that contact was minimal and the tackle did not appear to be dangerous or reckless.
United went on to beat the 10-man Hammers 2-0 and Slaven Bilic said that the red card was “totally unfair.".
“I would not even be happy with a yellow card there, it is not a yellow,” Bilic added. “After I saw it, it gave me proof that I was right, and the more times I see it, I think it is the other way around. It was Jones who made the more dangerous tackle than Feghouli, Jones made a scissors tackle that was dangerous. Maybe his reaction was to save himself. It was definitely not a red card.”
Bilic said that he hopes former Valencia winger Feghouli will not now be banned for the next three games. “We will appeal of course,” Bilic said. “I am expecting at least to win the appeal, which will not make me totally happy but I will be extremely gutted to lose Feghouli for three matches."
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