Chelsea and Aston Villa Appeal Dismissals of Cole and Knight

Chelsea and Aston Villa have lodged formal appeals against the red cards shown to Ashley Cole and Zat Knight respectively during yesterday's 4-4 Premier League draw at Stamford Bridge.

Cole was dismissed during injury time at the end of the second half after he was adjudged to have handled the ball on the line, but replays show it may actually have only have struck his shoulder. Chelsea manager Avram Grant was adamant that a penalty should not have been awarded, and the Football Association revealed today it had received a claim for wrongful dismissal from Cole.

"The FA has received a claim for wrongful dismissal from Chelsea's Ashley Cole," read an FA statement. "Cole was shown a red card for the denial of an obvious goal scoring opportunity during Chelsea's game against Aston Villa on Wednesday 26 December."

Knight, meanwhile, saw red after referee Phil Dowd adjudged him to have brought down Michael Ballack when through on goal in the penalty area at the end of the first half. Villa manager Martin O'Neill suggested yesterday he felt Ballack had dived, and this afternoon the club confirmed they had lodged an appeal of their own.

"Villa have officially appealed against Zat Knight's debatable red card at Chelsea yesterday," read a club statement. "Martin O'Neill was incensed by the decision and after reviewing the incident again this morning has decided to lodge a formal appeal in the hope that Knight can avoid a ban."

Both claims will be heard tomorrow by an FA regulatory commission.