North Queensland Fury have been unsuccessful in their appeal against the red card handed out to Togolese international Eric Akoto in Sunday’s thrilling 2-2 Hyundai A-League draw with the Melbourne Victory.
Akoto was sent off by debutant referee Mark Boyle after he pushed Victory skipper Kevin Muscat over following an argument between the pair late in the match at AAMI Park.
Following the heated match, which saw two Fury players sent off, NQ officials said they would appeal the dismissal which carries an automatic two match ban.
But the appeal fell on deaf ears as the A-League independent Match Review Panel of Barry Such, Simon Micallef and Alan Davidson said the suspension would stand on Monday night.
The Fury were also to investigate whether to lay a complaint against Muscat for his part in the incident with Akoto.
Muscat admitted he provoked Akoto throughout the game and made the most of the contact which saw him fall to the ground in the 82nd minute.
It’s the nature of that provocation that the Fury want to investigate with suggestions from the Togolese defender that it was outside the usual bounds of gamesmanship.
McLaren said the club will sit down with Akoto to determine what exactly was said and whether there was any cause for the matter to be taken to the FFA.
The match review panel also decided Fury defender Chris Grossman, who was sent off in the first half for denying Robbie Kruse a goal-scoring opportunity, would serve a one-match ban.
