West Ham United co-owner David Gold has revealed that the club are considering taking legal action over Andy Carroll's dismissal.
The 25-year-old was sent off for appearing to strike his arm across the top of Chico Flores's head during the Hammers' 2-0 victory over Swansea City last Saturday.
The Premier League outfit appealed the three-match ban, but the Football Association decided against rescinding the striker's red card.
"We are hugely disappointed at the outcome of the process," Gold told PA. "There is nowhere to go other than to seek some kind of legal redress. It's not ideal, the last thing I want to do is going to some kind of legal issue because I think it is a footballing issue.
"But we are fighting for our lives. If we were mid-table we would probably get on with it but we are fighting for our lives to retain our Premiership status and we owe it to our fans, we owe it to ourselves."
The Hammers are currently third from bottom in the league table.
