FOREST Green will appeal Mark Ellis’s red card against Sutton United, manager Mark Cooper has confirmed.

The on-loan Carlisle defender, who scored the opener, was shown a straight card for bringing down Maxime Biamou in the 2-1 victory at Gander Green Lane last night.

And Cooper felt the punishment was harsh after quickly looking at post-match video footage from club analyst Richard Joyce.

“Having seen the footage we will definitely appeal,” Cooper told BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

“There is no chance he should get suspended for that. It was a great tackle from Mark Ellis. The lad has got through and Mark slid in and took the ball cleanly, but the referee had a horrendous evening – he (the referee) and the officials lost control of the game - and it ended up as farcical scenes at the end.”

Cooper was delighted to see his side bounce-back from a late defeat at Dagenham & Redbridge at the weekend as they jumped back up to second, three points behind leaders Lincoln City.

He added: “It was win or bust tonight and we had to get three points.”