Football Talk - Arsenal frustrated by Eduardo ban - 02/09/09
Arsenal have confirmed they are considering their next move after Eduardo was handed a two-match European ban by Uefa.
Uefa confirmed Eduardo's punishment for "deceiving the referee" on Tuesday after an alleged dive during last week's Champions League clash with Celtic. The Croatian was awarded a penalty from which he scored to help Arsenal on their way to a 3-1 win on the night.
Following claims that Eduardo dived, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger was adamant that the player did not merit a ban. However, Arsenal have been given three days to appeal against the decision to ban Eduardo for Arsenal's Champions League group matches with Standard Liege and Olympiakos.
A statement on the club's official website read:
"The club is disappointed with Uefa's decision to suspend Eduardo for two Champions League matches starting with Standard Liege on 16th September. We have been informed that we will receive a 'reasoned decision' from Uefa by Thursday of this week. Once we receive Uefa's rationale, we will make a decision on the next steps.
"We have been deeply frustrated by the perfunctory and apparently arbitrary process that Uefa has followed in this instance. We believe it is imperative that Uefa's explanation for its decision provides clear and comprehensive standards that will be consistently enforced. It is also critical that Uefa provides specific details of the processes it plans to adopt in reviewing all games under its jurisdiction."
