Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha will miss the FA Cup fifth-round tie with Doncaster after losing an appeal against an additional one-match ban following his red card against Southampton.
Zaha appealed against the extra sanction, which came after he sarcastically clapped referee Andre Marriner following his dismissal, despite accepting a charge of improper conduct.
He missed the win over Fulham before returning against West Ham, but will now serve an additional one-match suspension after his appeal was rejected by an independent regulatory commission, and a £10,000 fine upheld.
The Football Association said in a statement: “Wilfried Zaha will be suspended for Crystal Palace’s game against Doncaster Rovers in the Emirates FA Cup on Sunday [17 February 2019].
“The forward accepted a charge of improper conduct, which followed his behaviour after a second-half dismissal during the Premier League game against Southampton on 30 January 2019, but subsequently appealed against a one match suspension and £10,000 fine.”
Speaking before the appeal decision was announced, Palace boss Roy Hodgson described the additional ban as “a very harsh punishment”, adding: “We thought the sending-off was punishment enough.”
Hodgson could now hand Michy Batshuayi his first Palace start on Sunday.
Batshuayi has made two appearances from the substitutes bench following his arrival on loan from Chelsea on deadline day.
The 25-year-old striker, who spent the opening half of the season with Spanish side Valencia, has made an impact on Hodgson.
And, although Hodgson insisted he will not ring the changes for Palace’s match against the League One side, Batshuayi is in contention for his full debut.
“In training and in the matches he has played so far, he has been everything we wanted him to be,” said Hodgson.
“He is a very lively character, and he is pleased to be back in London.
“Up front in particular, we have some options there, and it would be tempting for me to make some changes, but one thing I am certainly not prepared to do is to make any wholesale changes.
“We made a lot of alterations in the previous FA Cup game, but unless they’re forced upon me. I don’t intend to make that many on Sunday.”
Hodgson will again have Cheikhou Kouyate available after the midfielder missed his side’s last two matches with an ankle issue.
