West Ham to appeal for Paolo

Last updated : 25 January 2002 By Mike Reich
Di Canio trudges off
The West Ham Board seem to be blowing hot and cold about Paolo di Canio - half the time they seem to be trying to get rid of the player, whilst the other half they are being all nice and cutesy to him.

The past week or so is a classic example of this: following Manchester United's insultingly low bid for the Italian star, West Ham told them: you can have him if you stump up some more cash.

Then they announce that they plan to appeal to the FA for the referee to rescind the red card that Paolo received on Sunday, in the Premier League match against Chelsea. Is this an attempt to placate the player, or Manchester United?

Having received the referee's report from the match, West Ham Managing Director, Paul Aldridge told the official site:

"We are appealing against Paolo's sending off and will be putting the club's point of view across; we feel there is a case that he was harshly treated."

We will of course, let you know the result of the appeal here, as soon as we know.