Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand is considering whether to appeal against the increase to his ban for violent conduct.
The 31-year-old lost his original appeal against a three-match suspension for an altercation with Craig Fagan during Saturday's 4-0 win over Hull.
The Football Association labelled the appeal "frivolous" and increased his ban to four games.
United have until Monday to contest the additional one-game suspension.
The FA told BBC Sport that Manchester United can appeal against the increase but have yet to hear from the reigning Premier League champions.
United were unavailable to confirm to BBC Sport what their next move would be, but manager Sir Alex Ferguson revealed his displeasure with the disciplinary processes being used by the game's governing body.
"We have to decide whether to appeal because there are conflicting ways in how these decisions are being viewed," he said.
"I watched the game between Leyton Orient and Charlton on Monday and there was an elbow on the Charlton player three times as he was running with the ball.
"But nothing has happened with that. There is a lot of confusion there, although we accept that for (Saturday), Rio is banned."
Ferdinand only returned to action at Old Trafford at the weekend for the first time in three months after recovering from a calf injury.
But after appearing to swing an arm at Hull striker Fagan, the England centre-half picked up a three-match ban, which was then extended to four after the Football Association rejected the defender's appeal as "frivolous".
Because of the appeal, Ferdinand, who has made only 10 appearances for his club so far this season, was able to play in Wednesday's Carling Cup win over Manchester City, but he faces a further suspension if he fails to overturn the ban on the fourth game.
While he is definitely banned for the next three games, at Arsenal on Sunday and then the following Premier League matches against Portsmouth and Aston Villa, the Red Devils could succeed in having their centre-half available at Everton on 20 February.
If Ferdinand received a five-match suspension on the back of another appeal, he would be ruled out of the Carling Cup final against Aston Villa on 28 February at Wembley.
From BBC
Source: http://www.manutd-blog.com
The 31-year-old lost his original appeal against a three-match suspension for an altercation with Craig Fagan during Saturday's 4-0 win over Hull.
The Football Association labelled the appeal "frivolous" and increased his ban to four games.
United have until Monday to contest the additional one-game suspension.
The FA told BBC Sport that Manchester United can appeal against the increase but have yet to hear from the reigning Premier League champions.
United were unavailable to confirm to BBC Sport what their next move would be, but manager Sir Alex Ferguson revealed his displeasure with the disciplinary processes being used by the game's governing body.
"We have to decide whether to appeal because there are conflicting ways in how these decisions are being viewed," he said.
"I watched the game between Leyton Orient and Charlton on Monday and there was an elbow on the Charlton player three times as he was running with the ball.
"But nothing has happened with that. There is a lot of confusion there, although we accept that for (Saturday), Rio is banned."
Ferdinand only returned to action at Old Trafford at the weekend for the first time in three months after recovering from a calf injury.
But after appearing to swing an arm at Hull striker Fagan, the England centre-half picked up a three-match ban, which was then extended to four after the Football Association rejected the defender's appeal as "frivolous".
Because of the appeal, Ferdinand, who has made only 10 appearances for his club so far this season, was able to play in Wednesday's Carling Cup win over Manchester City, but he faces a further suspension if he fails to overturn the ban on the fourth game.
While he is definitely banned for the next three games, at Arsenal on Sunday and then the following Premier League matches against Portsmouth and Aston Villa, the Red Devils could succeed in having their centre-half available at Everton on 20 February.
If Ferdinand received a five-match suspension on the back of another appeal, he would be ruled out of the Carling Cup final against Aston Villa on 28 February at Wembley.
From BBC
Source: http://www.manutd-blog.com