Arsenal to appeal Eduardo diving ban

Arsenal announced on Thursday that they will mount an appeal against UEFA’s decision to ban their striker Eduardo for two matches for allegedly diving to win a penalty against Celtic in a Champions League qualifier.

UEFA, European football’s governing body, ruled on Tuesday that the Croatian striker had been guilty of “deceiving the referee” by tumbling as Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc dived at his feet during last week’s second leg of the play-off tie.

Television replays appeared to indicate that Boruc had not made any contact with the forward. Eduardo converted the resulting penalty to open the scoring and Arsenal went on to win the match 3-1, advancing to the group stage of the tournament 5-1 on aggregate.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has described UEFA’s actions as tantamount to a “witch hunt” and the club confirmed on Thursday that they would be seeking to have the sanction overturned.

“The club is in receipt of UEFA’s reasoned decision in relation to the charge against Eduardo,” a statement said.

“We strongly believe that the decision taken is deeply flawed and not based on any forensic review of the video evidence available.

“There are obvious errors and inconsistencies in UEFA’s judgment and we intend to appeal.”

If the ban is upheld, Eduardo will miss Arsenal’s opening two matches in the group stage of the Champions League — against Standard Liege in Belgium on September 16 and at home to Olympiacos on September 29.