Manchester City defender Bacary Sagna has failed in his appeal against a £40,000 fine for breaching Football Association rules on comments made in the media.
The 33-year-old uploaded a post to Instagram following his side's 2-1 win over Burnley on January 2 claiming that it was "10 against 12" after City had Fernandinho dismissed in the first half.
Although Sagna deleted the post within an hour of putting it up and later apologised for offence he had caused, the FA promptly approached the Frenchman to explain the post, and subsequently fined him and warned him about his future conduct.
An FA statement read: "The player, who was also warned as to his future conduct, contested the sanction set down by an Independent Regulatory Commission after it heard he admitted making a comment which questioned the integrity of the match official and/or alleged and/or implied bias on the part of the match official, and/or brought the game into disrepute, contrary to Rule E3 (1).
"However, an Appeal Board dismissed this appeal and the original sanction remains in place."
Sagna has made 12 Premier League appearances for Man City this season.
