Colchester United have confirmed that they will not appeal against Jabo Ibehre's red card against Hartlepool United.

Ibehre will now serve a three-match ban, after he was sent off for serious foul play following a challenge on Pools defender Neil Austin in the U's 0-0 draw at Victoria Park, on Tuesday night.

Colchester boss Joe Dunne said: “We’ve watched the whole game through again and based on the number of yellow cards that were shown in the game, we haven’t really got a lot of manoeuvrability I’m afraid.

“The wording of the ruling in terms of excessive force and lunge puts us in a difficult situation.

“However, if we run the risk of appealing then a week can become three weeks and lose Jabo for four weeks, rather than three.

“The assessors have backed the referee up and if you use the letter of the law, his red card could probably be justified."

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