Cole: Appeal rejected

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Chelsea manager Avram Grant has hit out after the Football Association upheld Ashley Cole's red card against Aston Villa.

The England international was dismissed in the dying seconds of the thrilling 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge on Boxing Day for handling on the line, with Gareth Barry slotting home the resulting penalty.

Grant insists that referee Phil Dowd got the decision wrong and feels that television evidence backs up his claim.

But the FA refused to overrule Dowd, leaving Grant without Cole, on top of the absence of injured trio John Terry, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard and the suspended Ricardo Carvalho.

Honest

Grant said: "The referee and his assistant should be honest. He saved the ball with his head, not his hand.

"The referee said that Ashley saved it with his hand, but the television shows he saved it with his head.

"Now they're saying head to chest and maybe touching his hand. So is it an anatomy lesson now? I listened to everybody and they're saying it has maybe gone from his head to his chest.

"It's like an animal, this ball. No. It was clear that he saved it with his head.

"I expected them to say they're sorry, they were wrong. And I'm waiting for the first mistake that will help us, too.

"We will have to think about bothering to appeal in future, if we appeal and it's for nothing"

Price

And Grant accepts that he may have to pay over the odds if he moves to bolster his squad in the January transfer window.

With club owner Roman Abramovich's vast wealth behind Grant, the Blues boss admits that rival clubs will inflate their valuations accordingly.

He added: "I can guarantee you that any player we're interested in, then the price will be suddenly more than we thought before. But what can we do? I will pay it.

"I've spoke with Roman. He's the owner and he knows the situation we're in. He knows what we need to do."