Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson has accused the FA of "incompetence" after attacking the handling of Jeremie Aliadiere's red card appeal.Gibson has described the FA's reaction - upgrading the Frenchman's initial three-match ban for violent conduct to a four-game suspension due to the 'frivolous' nature of Boro's appeal - as "insulting" and "confrontational".

Aliadiere was shown a red card for raising his hand and appearing to make contact with Javier Mascherano's face in Liverpool's 3-2 win over Boro.

But, with the Argentina midfielder seemingly offering provocation, the Teessiders decided to put the decision to an FA appeals panel.

Their findings have left Gibson shocked.

He told Sky Sports News: "We're simply shocked by what has gone on and it tells you everything you need to know about the FA.

"There was a disciplinary panel set up with four individuals on it. None of the four played Premier League football or football at any serious level.

"The system is inherently biased because they are there to protect the FA and the referee. They sided with the referee and we would have taken that on the chin.

"They then said our appeal was frivolous which is very subjective, quite insulting towards the professionalism of our club and the people in it, quite aggressive and confrontational."

Gibson went on to outline his belief that the issue of penalising 'frivolous' appeals had been questioned in the past and also accused the governing body of acting incorrectly in previous dealings with the club - notably when they hired then Boro boss Steve McClaren as the new manager of the national side.

"By itself this is not the greatest problem affecting football but we dig a little deeper and we find an incident some 12 to 16 months ago involving Charlton Athletic which was a similar case (to the Aliadiere appeal).

"What resulted was the FA would review this word 'frivolous'. That review has not taken place, it was brought to the attention of the FA recently and they still haven't looked at it.

"All bodies need a legislature. When the legislature doesn't work properly is is incapable of looking after the people it is there to serve.

"We have had this in the past with how the FA originally approached Steve McClaren, how the FA recently made an illegal approach to one of our coaching staff.

"It's nothing new this incompetence."

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