Soccer: Phoenix to appeal Herbert ban

Ricki Herbert congratulates Manny Muscat and Tim Brown after the Phoenix beat Adelaide United on Sunday. Photo / Getty Images

Wellington Phoenix will appeal coach Ricki Herbert's three-week ban, imposed yesterday after the A-League's match review panel found him guilty of abusing a match official.

The appeal will be heard by Football Federation Australia's disciplinary committee.

Herbert was expelled from the technical area in Sunday's soccer match between the Phoenix and Adelaide United at Christchurch, won by the Phoenix 2-1.

Herbert said later he was banished after challenging O'Leary over a throw-in.

He had to watch from the tunnel as defender Ben Sigmund nodded home a dramatic winner from corner kick in the final moments of the match.

The panel found that Herbert had committed an offence, namely the use of offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures against a match official and proposed a sanction of three matches.

The minimum for this offence under the competition rules is one match.

In another decision over another incident during the match, the panel cancelled a red card O'Leary issued to Adelaide United skipper Travis Dodd in the 84th minute.

Dodd, who now does not have to serve an automatic one-match red card suspension, was sent off when his leg accidentally connected with Vince Lia's head when he was trying to avoid contact by jumping over the midfielder and successfully appealed his ending off under an "obvious error" application.

- NZPA