Aston Villa defender Zat Knight has lost his appeal against his red card in the Boxing Day meeting with Chelsea.

Knight was sent off when he was adjudged to have denied an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by fouling Michael Ballack in first-half stoppage time of the 4-4 draw.

He now faces a one-match ban and will miss Saturday's game against Wigan.

Speaking after the FA's decision, Villa boss Martin O'Neill told Sky Sports News: "I'm disappointed obviously otherwise we wouldn't have done it in the first place but I can understand the situation.

"The referee has a decision to make at the end of the day and I understand that he needs some sort of support from the powers that be otherwise there would be absolute chaos.

"I'm disappointed because I thought that we had a case but I accept the view point that the referee in the course of the game has given an honest assessment of the situation."