PLAY THE ADVANTAGE

FA have granted Andy Carroll and West Ham an ‘arbitration hearing‘ before their fixture with Aston Villa. This will presumably happen today, since it’s the last business day before the weekend’s matches.

In case you’ve been hiding under a rock: Carroll was red carded by Howard Webb last weekend for hitting Chico Flores in the head with his arm. Flores overacted, as always. West Ham appealed the card through the Wrongful Dismissal Claims process (which all teams agreed to at the beginning of the year) and lost.

They then threatened legal action – all the way to the High Court – if the referee’s decision on the field of play wasn’t reviewed by an ‘arbitration hearing’.

I put this in quotes because I don’t have any idea what this is. It’s not in the rules and regulations. It’s unprecedented, so we don’t know if Carroll will testify, if Webb will be allowed to testify, who will be on it, etc.

I will keep you updated throughout the day as the case unfolds.

Update: West Ham have lost their appeal and Carroll will serve a three-game suspension.