Max Dowman appeal verdict: Arsenal fail in bid to overturn red card against Fleetwood

Max Dowman will be suspended from Arsenal’s next three fixtures after the Football Association upheld his ban following his red card at Fleetwood Town.

The 16-year-old was sent off for kicking out at Fleetwood’s Harrison Neal following a heavy challenge from behind in the 85th minute of Arsenal’s shock defeat to the League Two side.

Mikel Arteta appeared to be angry with the teenager and spoke to him as he left the pitch, but Arsenal felt Dowman had been treated harshly by the referee and lodged an appeal with the FA.

However, the FA confirmed on Thursday an independent commission had dismissed claims of both wrongful dismissal and excessive punishment for Dowman.

The FA said the written reasons for the commission’s decision to dismiss the claims would be published in due course.

Injuries to Bukayo Saka, Christos Tzolis and Noni Madueke, who missed the Carabao Cup tie against Fleetwood in midweek, mean Arsenal are stretched in wide areas ahead of Sunday’s trip to Anfield.

Speaking after Tuesday’s shock defeat, Arteta had suggested that he warned Dowman to be ready for heavy challenges and had urged him not to react, but the club argued he could have sustained a serious injury.

“When we prepared the context of the match, we were very clear on the things to respect, the things that emotionally we have to dominate, it was very clear,” Arteta said.

Dowman, though, was sent off for violent conduct, which is when a player “uses or attempts to use excessive force or brutality against an opponent when not challenging for the ball… regardless of whether contact is made”.

Phil Foden was sent off for petulantly kicking out at Bruno Fernandes in the Manchester derby earlier this season, but Cole Palmer avoided the same punishment after crashing into Matheus Fernandes in Chelsea’s defeat to Tottenham.