Brighton & Hove Albion have failed in their appeal against the red card shown to Jamie Murphy last Saturday against Bolton Wanderers.
The former Sheffield United man had scored his first goal for Brighton to put them 2-0 up at the Macron Stadium, but was then sent off for a lunge on Neil Danns.
Replays appeared to show that Murphy slipped to lose control as he went to challenge for the ball, and Seagulls manager Chris Hughton believed that they would win the appeal.
"I find it hard to understand," Hughton told BBC Sussex. "He slipped, there was no obvious intent and no strong contact.
"I was confident we would get the decision we felt would be the right one. It seems incredibly harsh for a lad who has never been sent off before. There was nothing malicious."
Murphy will now miss the matches against Cardiff City, Leeds United and Bristol City and will not play until October 24 due to the upcoming international break.
Pascal Lemesre
