FA makes Huddlestone ban appeal

Huddlestone is given his marching orders by referee Kircher Knut

The Football Association is to appeal against Tom Huddlestone's two-match ban after his sending-off in the European Under-21 Championship win over Serbia.

The 20-year-old, who had been on the pitch for only three minutes, was sent off in the final minute for dissent.

The suspension means the Tottenham man will miss the final if England beat Holland in Wednesday's last-four tie.

However, the FA is unhappy with the severity of the ban and are hoping it will be reduced to one game.

Coach Stuart Pearce confirmed: "We are attempting to appeal the length of the ban, we are hoping for that to be reduced to one match.

"We are not going to appeal what he said, which was a sending off offence."

Huddlestone has chosen to stay with the squad even if he is ruled out of the rest of the tournament.

Pearce's team beat Serbia 2-0 in a bad-tempered match to secure their place in the last four, with their opponents topping the group.

Uefa has opened disciplinary proceedings against Serbia and England following incidents in Sunday's match.

It will investigate Serbia for racist chants from their fans at Nedum Onuoha and the conduct of their players both during and after the match.

The conduct of England players after the match will also be looked at.

England's second goal sparked ugly scenes as Matt Derbyshire opted to play on instead of kicking the ball out so Slobodan Rajkovic could receive treatment to an injury.

And Uefa will also be looking into the conduct of England's players at the final whistle.