Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson described the FA as "amateurs and silly little men" yesterday in the wake of the governing body's decision to increase Jeremie Aliadiere's ban in response to a 'frivolous' appeal.

The French forward was suspended for three matches following his dismissal for slapping Liverpool's Javier Mascherano in the weekend's 3-2 defeat but after rejecting the appeal as frivolous, the FA increased the ban to four games on Tuesday.

Gibson said: "We have amateurs in charge of the game. We need professional people making decisions, not these silly little men."

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