Liverpool's Degen loses red card appeal

LONDON (Reuters) - Liverpool's selection problems deepened after the Football Association rejected Philipp Degen's appeal against the red card he received during the Premier League defeat to Fulham.

The team are suffering a manpower crisis with several players, including captain Steven Gerrard and defender Glen Johnson, ruled out through injury or illness.

"At a Regulatory Commission hearing today, a claim for wrongful dismissal by Liverpool defender Philipp Degen was rejected," read a statement on the FA website (thefa.com).

Degen begins a three-game suspension with immediate effect and will miss the matches against Birmingham and Manchester City, as well as the Merseyside derby against Everton on Nov. 29.

The Swiss defender was sent off for a late tackle on Fulham's Clint Dempsey in Saturday's 3-1 loss at Craven Cottage during which stand-in captain Jamie Carragher was also dismissed.

Liverpool have lost six of there last seven matches in all competitions and the defeat to Fulham was their fifth in the league. They are sixth in the table with 18 points, nine behind leaders Chelsea.

The FA also said it had transferred a caution for Manchester United's Fabio da Silva to his brother Rafael following a case of mistaken identity in last week's League Cup tie against Barnsley.

Aston Villa's Stephen Warnock had a yellow card received in Saturday's Premier League clash with Everton transferred to team mate Stilian Petrov.

(Reporting by Toby Davis; editing by Alison Wildey

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