Nightmare ban possible for Arsenal star, hearing will take place with FIFA

Arsenal centre-back Laurent Koscielny still has a case to answer for his disastrous display in France's World Cup first leg.

Laurent Koscielny may be in jubilant mood after Arsenal's win over Marseille, but his mood is about to turn to more serious matters.

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A FIFA hearing will take place on Thursday where the defender will learn his fate for next year's World Cup.

Koscielny was sent off late in the first leg of the qualifying play-off match with Ukraine, for pushing an opponent to the floor, and missed the second leg, a famous 3-0 win for France, through an automatic ban.


Now FIFA will decide whether to extend the Arsenal defender's ban to future international games, applicable only to competitive fixtures - which will mean next year's World Cup in Brazil.
L'Equipe report: "Laurent Koscielny still does not know how many matches he will be suspended. FIFA will investigate his case Thursday and could decide whether or not to extend the suspension.
"If more than one match suspension, Koscielny could therefore miss the first match(es) in Brazil if Didier Deschamps selects."
The paper go onto cite the example of England striker Wayne Rooney, sent off in a European Championship qualifier in 2011, later banned for the opening two matches of Euro 2012.

A two-game ban could be a nightmare for Koscielny, who will find himself phased out of the side in upcoming friendlies as France prepare to cope without him. They did so admirably in the second leg, so the centre-back has every reason to be worried. The pragmatic Didier Deschamps could even decide to leave him at home.
A push is not a typical in-game coming together, and like Wayne Rooney's kick at an opponent, FIFA could well decide to take a dim view.
You can see his red card below, his push at 0:33:

Will Koscielny get an extended ban? What could that do to his morale?