Manchester City lose appeal against Fernandinho's four game ban

Manchester City have had their appeal against Fernandinho's four match ban turned down.

The midfielder was sent off for serious foul play after a tackle on Johann Berg Gudmundsson in City's 2-1 win over Burnley on Monday.

City had been hoping to have the ban overturned but the Football Association announced on Wednesday afternoon it had rejected the club's 'wrongful dismissal' appeal.

An FA statement read: "Fernandinho will serve a four-match suspension with immediate effect after his claim of wrongful dismissal was rejected today [Wednesday 4 January 2017] following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing."

The Brazilian has been sent off three times in his last six games - the other two being in the 3-1 loss to Chelsea in December and in the Champions League draw with Borussia Monchengladbach in November.

Because this is his second Premier League red card of the season, he will miss four games instead of the normal three.

The ban begins with immediate effect, meaning Fernandinho will be unavailable for City's game against West Ham in the FA Cup on Friday night as well as their next three league fixtures against Everton, Tottenham and West Ham.