Hodgson Retains Appeal Hope For Zaha

Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson remains optimistic that Wilfried Zaha will succeed in his appeal against a further one-match ban.

The forward was charged with improper conduct and then fined £10,000 by the Football Association having been dismissed for sarcastically applauding referee Andre Marriner when he was booked at St Mary’s.

He has already missed one match, last week against Fulham, but faces being suspended for an additional one should his appeal not succeed.

Related: Hodgson Relieved To Hang On

But Hodgson said: “A one-match ban, which he’s already served, was more than sufficient punishment for the event, and we made that clear at the commission.

“This will lead to a second hearing, where we hope that further one-match ban will be crushed. “We’ve appealed, and the result is they have suspended the ban, so we’ll have to wait and see whether we’re successful or the ban is upheld, until such time as the appeal is heard.

“It’s not very nice to be sent off, and you’re always disappointed in yourself and the referee’s decision, so it’s pretty obvious he’s upset about it. “We were treated very fairly with the FA board and the lawyer we had believes we’re justified in making the appeal, so we’ll wait and see if we get that extra game lifted.”