The Football Association have announced Sunderland have failed in their attempts to overturn the red card Sebastian Larsson was shown in their 3-0 defeat to Manchester United last week.
Larsson was given his marching orders by referee Craig Pawson in the 43rd minute of Sunderland’s defeat at home to United with the scoreline at 1-0 following Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s fantastic opener.
Sunderland’s players were left shocked by the decision and the tackle divided opinion between fans and the media after he appeared to win the ball before catching Ander Herrera on the way through.
David Moyes’ side had hoped to see the decision overturned on appeal in a bid to help their relegation fight but the FA have upheld the decision and the Swedish midfielder will serve a three-game ban with immediate effect.
It means the 31-year-old will miss Sunderland’s huge home clash with West Ham at the weekend, before a trip to Arsenal is followed up with another away game against relegation rivals, Middlesbrough.
The Black Cats are rock bottom in the Premier League and 10 points adrift of safety with seven games remaining in the season to pull off the great escape. However, they have now failed to score in 10 of their last 11 matches and relegation appears a foregone conclusion at last for a side that have repeatedly danced with the devil over the last few campaigns.
For more stats on Sebastian Larsson, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
