London (AFP) – Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny will miss this weekend’s FA Cup final against Chelsea, it was confirmed Tuesday, after his appeal against a three-match ban was dismissed by the Football Association.
The 31-year-old French central defender was sent off against Everton on Sunday for a reckless first-half challenge on Enner Valencia.
Despite his absence, Arsenal still ended their Premier League season with a 3-1 home win, although results elsewhere meant they failed to qualify for Europe’s lucrative Champions League.
Koscielny’s absence is a further setback for Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, with the Gunners boss already having fitness doubts over two other defenders in Gabriel and Shkodran Mustafi ahead of Saturday’s final against Premier League champions Chelsea at Wembley.
The standard suspension for Koscielny’s red-card offence is a three-game ban and he will now start to serve this with immediate effect, missing the Cup final and Arsenal’s opening two domestic fixtures of next season.
“Laurent Koscielny will serve a three-match suspension with immediate effect after a claim of wrongful dismissal was unsuccessful,” an FA statement read.
“The Arsenal defender was sent off for serious foul play during the game against Everton on Sunday (21 May 2017).
“An independent regulatory commission heard the case today (Tuesday).”
