Frei banned for 15 days
Monday, June 21, 2004
Article summary
Switzerland striker Alexander Frei has been provisionally suspended for 15 days pending an appeal following a spitting incident.
Article body
Switzerland striker Alexander Frei has been provisionally suspended for 15 days pending an appeal after the UEFA Appeals Body reviewed video evidence of a spitting incident during the 3-0 Group B defeat by England last Thursday.
New evidence
The 24-year-old was initially charged upon review of video evidence of an incident involving England midfield player Steven Gerrard. The UEFA disciplinary body decided yesterday that the evidence was not conclusive, only for the UEFA Appeals Body to today lodge an appeal after new evidence came to light.
UEFA statement
A statement today said: "The UEFA Appeals Body has suspended the Swiss player Alexander Frei provisionally for all competitive UEFA matches in national team competitions. This provisional suspension is for a total of 15 days and takes effect today, 21 June 2004, before the France-Switzerland match.
Hearing dates
"Should Switzerland qualify tonight then the Appeals Body hearing would take place in Portugal this week. Should Switzerland fail to qualify the hearing would take place back in Nyon, Switzerland in July after the end of UEFA EURO 2004™."
Pulled out
The Swiss Football Association had earlier decided, in agreement with the player, to pull Frei out of their squad to face France tonight. Switzerland need a victory to stand a chance of reaching the quarter-finals.
