Bastian Schweinsteiger to appeal FA charge

Bastian Schweinsteiger has told Manchester United he wants to fight the Football Association's charge of violent conduct after his clash with Winston Reid during Saturday's goalless draw against West Ham at Old Trafford.

Schweinsteiger is facing a three-match ban after knocking Reid to the ground with his forearm but the Germany international does not believe it should warrant a suspension and has the backing of his club.

United have until Thursday to inform the FA about whether they intend to appeal but their chances of overturning the decision look slim given that the governing body has already shown the incident to a panel of three former high-level referees.

Their decision unanimously was that it should have warranted a red card and that Schweinsteiger should miss United’s matches against Bournemouth, Norwich City and Stoke City.

The referee, Mark Clattenburg, has told the FA he did not fully see the incident and West Ham are convinced it deserves a ban. Their manager Slaven Bilic described it as “a moment of madness” and Reid insisted after the match it was deliberate. “It was a red card,” the West Ham defender said. “He knows what he’s done – he’s elbowed me in the face. The referee couldn’t see it, so we move on.”

(Guardian Service)